Framed
by Jenna Cassie Herdz
Summary: When Vash returns to Meryl and Milly with an unconscious Knives, they find themselves wondering if he'll cause trouble when he wakes up. But will the influence of a stranger in black, who happens to be a fan of Vash's, change his attitude toward humans?
1. The Return of the Humanoid Typhoon

**A/N:** ok, so welcome to my Trigun fanfic! this has been a long time comin. I wrote it like, forever ago, and it was actually my first fanfic ever, but as my writing skills have grown, even if it is slightly, i've revised some things. this story will probably be updated in spats, but bare with me. it's only casue i'm trying to make it the best it can be ^.^ enjoy!

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_**Chapter 1: The Return of the Humanoid Typhoon**_

Vash walked towards the town, the sand reflecting the heat of the twin suns into his face, his brother, Knives, on his back. He had been walking the whole afternoon, and was getting very tired and hungry from carrying his unconscious twin brother on his back. He looked straight ahead of him, hoping to see the town, and the friends he had left.

In the glare of the sun, he saw a fuzzy shape on the horizon. He squinted to make out the shape, and soon saw other shapes around it. He smiled when he realized that he was back where he had started before he went to battle Knives. As he came closer he saw water flowing up from the ground and smiled wider.

_They must have finally hit water in that dry well_, he thought. _Jeez, Knives is freakin' heavy!_

His pace quickened as he shifted his unconscious brother into a more comfortable position for his shoulder. He had to get there as quickly as possible. He had to see her, and her friend, but mostly her. He had to tell her his feelings for her. He had to tell her that he couldn't stop thinking about her, and he had had a lot of time to think. As he drew closer to the town, he saw two smaller, blurry figures running toward him, and knew right away who they were. Meryl! Milly!

"Mr. Vash!" the taller girl cried with a smile as the two met him. "We were so worried about you! Who's on your back?" Milly wondered, frowning in confusion at the unconscious Millions Knives. Vash turned around so that the girls could see Knives' better half, and looked over his shoulder to talk to them.

"This is my brother, Knives," he introduced then turned to face them again and stared at the shorter girl. The girl he had to see.

_Finally_, he thought. _I get to see her beautiful face again. It seems like I was out in that stupid desert for ages without her there_.

"Vash?" Meryl called as he stared at her, speechlessly. He snapped out of his thoughts at hearing her voice.

"Huh?" he asked blankly then came back to reality. "Sorry, I was just thinking. Where's the house? I'm starving!"

"I'm not surprised," Meryl sighed, rolling her eyes. "You're a bottomless pit when it comes to food!" She turned and began walking towards the town with Milly running to catch up with her. Milly walked next to Meryl as Vash trailed behind them, his brother on his back.

"Now, Meryl," Milly scolded. "He's been out there for a long time. He probably didn't pack enough food."

Meryl only rolled her eyes again. She knew he had been out there for a few days, at least. But she also knew that Vash would claim to be starving after finishing a three-course meal. The three of them were silent as they walked toward the house, except for the few times Milly offered to carry Knives, and Vash would refuse, claiming he was just fine.

"Where should I put him?" Vash asked when they reached the house and went inside.

"Maybe you should put him in your room," Meryl suggested, sarcastically. "After all, he is _your_ brother." She turned to walk down the hall, and Vash stuck his tongue out at her back. After making his childish face, he couldn't help but smile.

_Same old Meryl_, he smirked to himself. He followed Meryl down the hall, and stopped at the door to his bedroom. She stood at the door and opened it for him. He smiled and marched through the door comically with a fake serious look on his face, trying to get a laugh, even just a smile, out of Meryl. He turned around to see her reaction. She only sighed and closed the door. He stared at the door blankly then heard some low giggling on the other side of the wood and smiled. He looked at his bed, sighed.

"Why _my_ bed?" he complained. "Where am _I_ gonna sleep?"

He shrugged and gently laid his brother on the bed then stood tall to look at him. The bandages wrapped around Knives' legs, shoulders and stomach were seeping with blood. Vash looked around and upon noticing the first aid kit on the nightstand next to the bed, he snickered.

_I think Meryl knows me just a little too well_.

He sat on the bed and properly took care of his twin's wounds. As he took care of his brother, he couldn't help but wonder what would happen after Knives woke up. Would he try to run away? And if he _did_, get away, would he go on another killing rampage? What would he tell him after he woke up? So many questions ran through Vash's mind as he tried to heal his injured brother.

Then his mind wandered to Meryl. He smiled as he thought of her predictable remarks she had told him earlier. He concentrated on how to tell her exactly how he felt about her, and how she would react. He made a speech in his mind, and went over it, silently, again and again, until he was one hundred percent sure of what to say to her.

After he finished bandaging his brother, he stood, and walked to the closet. Opening the door, he looked at the hanging shirt and pants, trying to find something nice to wear to dinner.

"Everything in here is the same!" he realized. "I should have one of the girls go shopping for me."

He pulled out a shirt and a pair of pants and began to change. After changing, he took one more glance at Knives and walked to the door. He closed the door on his way out and walked down the hall, the smell of cooking from the kitchen filling his nose as he got closer. He heard Milly humming and the clatter of cookware in the kitchen.

"So," he began, standing next to the table. "What's for dinner?" He didn't know why he asked. He knew the answer already.

"It's a surprise!" Milly smiled, cheerfully. She sounded and acted so innocent that it almost made Vash laugh.

"Of course," he smiled expectantly. He searched the room for Meryl, but she was no where to be found. "Hey, where's Meryl? Isn't she gonna have dinner?"

"Oh, of course," Milly replied. "She just went outside to feed the Thomas'." She pointed down the hall. "They're tied up in the back."

"Thanks, Milly," he said as he walked down the hall, again.

He walked a bit slow so as not to seem anxious to get to her, even though he nearly wanted to run down the hall. He had hurt her when he left and made her worry about him, even though she would never admit that she had worried about him. He had told them both he was looking for Knives and Meryl knew everything about the history between himself and his brother, but he left her, not telling her when he would come back, or even promising _if_ he would. He knew he had to try to make it up to her, but how? He had known the whole time he was in his room what he was going to tell her, but now, knowing he was going to be face to face with her, he drew a blank.

He reached the back door and slowly gripped the knob, taking a deep breath, and turning it. He opened it just enough so that he could poke his head through the doorway. He saw Meryl, standing with a bucket in her hands in front of a Thomas.

"Hello!" he smiled cheerfully, and loudly. He winced as he saw her jump and turn toward him with a glare. He opened the door fully and stood in the threshold.

"Sorry," he smiled as he rubbed the back of his neck. She turned back to feeding the Thomas, and he walked up next to her. "Milly told me you were back here."

"That I am," she said still facing the Thomas. He rubbed the back of his neck a little longer as he turned to lean on the hitching post.

"I, uh, wanted to talk to you about something…"

"Okay."

"It's kind of important…"

"Yeah?"

_Dang it!_ his thoughts shouted at him. _Nothing! I knew exactly what I was gonna say before! What happened?!_

"Vash?" she called, hesitantly, now staring at him. He shot a wide-eyed look at her. "Are you okay? You've been acting a bit strange since you got back."

"Huh? Oh, yeah, well, it's just. I really need to tell you something, and---"

"Oh, good. I need to tell you something, too."

"Go ahead then," he said, dropping his arm. "I can wait till you finish."

_Stupid coward_, his mind mocked.

She put the bucket on the ground and faced him.

_Oh, crap_, he thought. _I know that look. I'm in trouble_.

"You really scared me, leaving like that," she began in a somewhat high-pitched tone of voice. "I mean, I didn't know where you were---well, _we_ didn't know where you were, and I---_we_ were really worried about you!"

Vash smiled a bit but then realized that she might think he was laughing at her.

"That's what I wanted to tell you," he started quickly. "I know what I did, and I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for making you two worry about me. I'm really, _really_ sorry."

"Well, you should be!" she exclaimed. He bowed his head and drew circles in the sand with the tip of his shoe.

"I mean," she said gently. "Apology accepted."

Vash smiled at her properness and stood up to walk into the house.

"Wait!"

He stopped.

"Was there something else you wanted to tell me?"

He turned around to face her and blushed a bit, rubbing the back of his neck, yet again.

"Uh, no, I don't think so. No. That was it!"

_Liar! Stupid! Why did I say that?! I have to tell her how I feel! GAH! I need a donut!_

"Mr. Vash!" he heard from inside the house. "Meryl! Dinner!"

Meryl walked into the house, and Vash watched her as his hand came down to his side.

He sighed and shrugged.

"Oh, well," he whispered to himself. "I guess I can tell her later."

He followed her into the house, wondering if he could actually tell her later.

Meryl led Vash through the door as she followed Milly to the kitchen. She couldn't help but wonder why Vash had been acting so strangely, and she sensed that he had more to say to her than just apologizing for leaving. She herself had held back from telling him how she felt about him. She had thought of him the whole time he was gone---not only of his well being, but of all the adventures they had shared.

As they walked down the hall, she heard the creek of a door opening behind her. She stopped and turned around to see Vash walking into his bedroom. From where she was standing, she had a clear view of his brother lying on the bed with clean bandages covering his wounds.

_I see he used that kit I left on his nightstand_, she thought. _I knew he would need it_.

She gave a quick nod, with a small smile of pride on her lips, turned, and walked to the table for dinner. Milly busied herself in the kitchen with serving dinner. She turned to see that Vash had disappeared and Meryl was walking to the table alone.

"Where's Mr. Vash?" Milly wondered. Meryl sat down at one side of the table, her back facing the wall.

"He's checking on Knives," she guessed. "He'll be out in a moment." She put her elbows on the table with her hands propping her head up. She closed her eyes for a moment and pictured Vash in her mind as if him not being there would erase him from her memory.

Her daydreams were quickly interrupted when she heard a loud rumble of wood rubbing on wood. Her eyes snapped open to see Vash taking a seat in front of her. She lifted her head and placed her hands on the table, sitting up in her chair. She was careful not to stare at him and only snuck a few glances when he wasn't looking.

"So, Milly," Vash said, breaking the awkward silence. "What's the 'surprise dinner' gonna be tonight?"

Meryl swallowed a bit loudly. She had been subjected to Milly's cooking inventions and was always afraid to ask what they were having at every meal time.

"Well," Milly started. "We didn't have time to get to the store, so we're gonna have breakfast for dinner!"

_Oh, please, let it be something without pudding!_ Meryl prayed. _That stuff makes everything so thick!_

"Tonight's main course is pudding and chocolate-chip French toast!" Milly announced, grandly. Meryl blanched while Milly wasn't looking.

"Yum," Vash lied, frowning at Meryl in confusion. She only shook her head, as if to say, "Don't ask." Milly brought two plates with the breakfast-for-dinner meals on them, and set one in front of Vash and the other in front of Meryl then gave each of them a knife and fork.

Meryl cautiously picked up the silverware as Milly went to get her plate and sit down at the head of the table. She stared at the gooey pieces of bread for a moment then looked up at Vash to see his reaction to the strange meal. He had wasted no time in stuffing as much food as he could get in his mouth. Meryl's eyes were wide in disbelief and she twitched a bit as she watched the Humanoid Typhoon wolf down his food like it was going out of style.

_What led me to this guy?_ she couldn't help but wonder. She then looked at Milly who sat in her chair, cheerfully eating her plate of French toast. As soon as the three had finished their meal, Milly cleared the table and Meryl and Vash sat there as Milly washed the dishes.

"Let me help you with those, Milly," Meryl said, getting up and walking into the kitchen. "I'll rinse and dry."

"Thanks Meryl!" Milly grinned, gratefully. Meryl began to dry the dishes Milly had already rinsed and put them away as well. When they had finished, she turned to see that Vash had disappeared. She started down the hall when Milly stopped her.

"What's wrong?" Milly wondered.

"I just need to talk to Vash for a minute," Meryl explained, stopping only for a moment then resuming her journey down the hall, not noticing Milly smile. She stopped in front of his door then quietly and slowly opened it. She walked in just enough so that she was framed in the doorway and stared at him for a moment. He was sitting on a chair at the foot of his bed, his left profile facing her as he stared at his brother.

"Vash?" she called meekly. He looked over his shoulder and stood up to face her.

"Hey, Meryl," he said, hesitantly. "What's up?"

She still couldn't figure out why he was still acting so strangely, but she figured the only way to find out was to ask him herself.

"Are you okay?" she asked, bluntly. "You seem a bit, up tight. Is something wrong?"

"Nope," he chirped, rubbing the back of his neck. Meryl knew better. He was hiding something.

"Ok," she shrugged, seemingly giving up. She walked into the room then stood next to him, facing Knives. Vash only stared at her, trying to figure out what kind of mood she was in.

"Vash? What happened out there?" she asked, turning her head to face him. He straightened then looked back at his brother. As if it wasn't bad enough making her worry about him, she'd freak out if he told her what _really_ happened out there.

"Nothing really," he lied. "Just a gunfight. Nothing too extravagant."

Meryl could tell he was lying through his teeth. Not extravagant would be the two of them coming back with a few scratches and bruises, not Vash bringing his brother back over his shoulder! He was lying, and she knew it, but she also knew she had opened a touchy subject for him. They stood silently staring at Knives for a few moments.

"Meryl?" Vash called meekly. She shot her gaze toward him, but he was still staring at his brother. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," she replied, preparing herself for anything random and he turned to face her.

"If a person had feelings for you, you would want them to tell you, right?" he asked in a serious voice. She smiled before answering and looked down at the floor to keep him from seeing her blush.

"Yes," she said shyly. "I would hope they would tell me." She looked up into his eyes. "Why?"

His expression changed to shock, as if he didn't think she would ask.

"Well," he began cautiously, looking back at Knives. "While I was out in the desert with Knives unconscious and all, I had a chance to really think, and I realized something that had been in my mind the whole time, I just never really paid attention to it until I was out there, and I think-I mean, I'm _sure_…"

He stopped, then turned back to her and gripped her arms, looking deep into her eyes.

"I…I…"

It was obvious he was having a hard time expressing himself. She raised her fingers and gently pressed them on his lips. His grip loosened from her arms and she stepped closer to him.

"Vash," she murmured. "I know what you're going to say, and I don't care that you can't say it right now. I'll say it for you. I love you."

Vash sighed and they gave each other a small smile. Meryl wrapped her arms around his neck, and stepped close to him as his arms slid around her waist.

"You know," he smiled. "I never thought I could love anyone after Rem, especially since anyone I get close to ends up hurt, or killed…"

_Nice Vash. Way to be romantic_, she thought.

"But you've changed me, Meryl. You really have."

They held each other a bit closer and Vash leaned down to whisper into her ear.

"And I promise, as long as there is a breath in me, I will _not_ let anything, or anyone, hurt you. I can't, and I won't."

Meryl sighed and closed her eyes as she leaned her head on his shoulder. She had gone through too many sleepless nights, I her opinion, worrying about him, crying over him and in that moment, as he said those words, she knew it was worth it to be in his arms now.

They pulled away from each other just enough to look into the other's eyes. She closed her eyes again and felt his lips touch her own. A shiver ran up her spine as he pulled her closer and she did the same with him. Before she knew it their tongues met and it seemed she couldn't pull him close enough. A moment alter they pulled away and smiled at each other.

"Mr. Vash?" Milly suddenly called from the doorway. "Meryl?"

They pushed away from each other as Milly giggled from the open door.

"Yes," Meryl's voice cracked, but she cleared it asked, "Is something wrong?"

"No," Milly smiled. "I just came to tell you good-night! I have to be at work kind of early tomorrow."

Vash yawn loudly and rubbed his eyes then said, "I guess I'd better hit the sack, too." He looked down at Knives and whined, "Aw, man! Where am _I_ gonna sleep?!"

Meryl blinked and stared at him in disbelief as she thought, _What happened?! He was serious and heartfelt a second ago! Now he's a child!_ She caught herself and shook her head. _I shouldn't be surprised, though_.

She rolled her and looked at Milly who was still standing in the doorway.

"Good night, Milly," she said, calmly.

"Night, Mill," Vash called, cheerfully.

"Good night!" Milly grinned then left down the hall, leaving Vash and Meryl alone with the unconscious Knives again. They looked at each other and smiled slightly.

"Well, Vash sighed, breaking the silence. "I'm gonna grab a pillow and a blanket and sleep on the couch."

"Oh," Meryl nodded. "Ok."

He started to walk out of the room but stopped when he got to the door. He couldn't leave it like this. Not after that kiss. He turned around, took a few steps toward her and leaned his head toward her. She felt his lips kiss her cheek gently as she closed her eyes.

"Good night," he whispered.

"G-Good night," she sputtered. He straightened and walked out, leaving Meryl in wide-eyed shock and she swallowed.

_He switches from silly to serious so easily_, she thought. _I hate it when he does that_.

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**A/N:** i forgot to mention that the POV will be switching back and forth very orderly becuase i originally started writing an individual section for each each character POV and as i revised it, i found it fit pretty well together anyway. this was a combo of Vash and Meryl, as you can see. I HAD TO DO IT! the anime _totally_ left it wide open for their relationship, so i filled it in...lol! well, wucha think? reviews are appreciated


	2. Rude Awakening

**A/N: **and here's the next chappie! ^.^

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_**Chapter 2: Rude Awakening**_

Milly awoke the next morning to the sound of Kuroneko yawning and meowing on the windowsill of her open window. Her eyes fluttered open and she rubbed them as she sat up in bed. Just then her alarm rang eight AM and she quickly turned it off, in case anyone in the house wanted to sleep in. She turned and faced the window while putting her slippers on.

"What a beautiful morning to build a well!" she grinned then stood and went to her closet to put on her uniform.

After she changed, she quietly tip-toed through the doorway and slowly closed it as she walked into the hall. She winced when the door creaked on its hinges but when nothing happened, she tip-toed down the hall and into the kitchen to make breakfast. As she made breakfast, which was another strange meal of peanut butter and pudding pancakes, she thought of what she would have to do today.

"I hope Trevor is there," she smiled cutely. Trevor was the organizer of the construction team. He was tall, a little shorter than Vash, scrawny, and had curly, sand blonde hair, and chocolate brown eyes.

Milly thought he was _so_ great that every time she even thought about him, she'd giggle and smile ear to ear. The thing that was strange was, he showed up out of the blue about the same time Vash had left to find Knives, but he said he'd been living there for a while. Meryl and Milly had never seen him, but she figured they were too busy with everything else to notice who really lived in this little town. And she had been too depressed about Wolfwood to notice anyone anyway.

She was jolted from her thoughts when she heard Meryl come in and sit down at the table.

"Good morning, Milly," Meryl smiled, cheerfully. Milly jumped with a start and looked over her shoulder to see Meryl taking the same seat she had taken last night for dinner.

"Oh, hi, Meryl!" Milly chirped. "I didn't hear you come in." She turned back to pouring pancake batter into the pan. "Do you want some pancakes?"

"What kind are they?" Meryl wondered, cautiously.

"Peanut butter and pudding!" Milly grinned.

"Uh, no thanks," Meryl replied, hesitantly. "I'll see if I can cook up some eggs or something. Thanks, though."

"Ok," Milly nodded with a twinge of sadness. She kind of knew Meryl didn't like her cooking, but the least she could've done was not be so obvious about it.

"Hey girls," Vash called as he came down the hall.

"Oh, hi, Mr. Vash!" Milly grinned, cheering up a bit. She looked at Meryl as she walked next to her to make some eggs. She was smiling at Vash, her eyes a little dreamy. Milly the looked to her other side, where Vash was leaning on the counter, looking back at Meryl with a goofy smile on his face and smiled herself at the two.

"Good morning," Meryl told him, cutely.

"Morning," he replied a little shyly. They looked at each other, just smiling for a few moments.

"Mr. Vash," Milly broke in. "Do you want some pancakes?"

He straightened and gave a small smile to Milly. He then walked to the table and took a seat.

"No thanks, Mill," he said, politely. "I'm sure Meryl's got something on the fire."

"Oh, ok," Milly said, turning back to making her own breakfast.

"How do eggs sound, Vash," Meryl asked, looking over her shoulder at him. He smiled and nodded and Meryl continued to make _their_ breakfast. After Milly cooked her breakfast she sat down at the table with Meryl and Vash who were eating and smiling at each other.

_How nice_, she thought. _They finally got together. I hope I find that soon_.

"So, Vash," Meryl said suddenly. "How's Knives doing?"

Vash looked up from stuffing a huge helping of food into his mouth.

"Knives?" Vash asked, startled at her curiosity about his brother. "He's still unconscious. He should be awake, maybe tomorrow, or the day after."

"How can you tell when he'll wake up?" Milly wondered, taking a bite of pancake. He looked up at Milly with wide eyes.

"It's a twin thing," he grinned making her giggle and she looked at her watch.

"Oh, my gosh!" she gasped. "I'm gonna be late!"

She stood and grabbed a brown bag on the counter which contained her lunch and running to the door she waved good bye to her friends. They waved back as she grabbed her stun-gun and ran out the door. She skipped down the road to the construction sight where the well would be built.

The crew had gotten the water under control, but there was no telling if or when they would lose control of it again. That was why they had to work quickly to get the well built. As she got closer, she saw Trevor standing with a clipboard in his hand, making sure everyone was working hard. He was concentrating so much on his job, he nearly missed Milly skip right by him.

"Milly!" he called, going after her. "Wait!"

Milly stopped in her tracks at the sound of his almost melodic voice.

"Don't you wanna know what you're gonna be doing today?" he smirked as Milly turned around to face him. She blushed and rubbed the back of her neck.

"Oh, yeah, of course," she laughed nervously. "Sorry, I'm just really excited. My friend came back yesterday!"

_I must sound a fool_, she thought.

"Oh," he replied. "Vash, right? He came back? Well, that's wonderful!"

"Yeah, he brought his brother with him, too! His name is Knives."

"Hey!" shouted one of the workers shouted at them, attracting their attentions. "We could use a little help over here!"

"Well," Trevor shrugged, "back to work. Milly, I need you and your really big gun to help move those boulders and rocks out of the way. Think you can do that for me?"

_I'll do anything for you!_ she thought but instead, stood at attention and saluted him and said, "Sir, yes, sir!"

Trevor laughed as she turned and marched away.

_I made him laugh!_ she grinned.

* * *

_Lunch..._

Milly sat at one of the far tables for lunch…alone. She really didn't have any friends on the crew, except Trevor. She was about to take the first bite of left over pancakes when she saw Trevor sit next to her out of the corner of her eye.

"Hey, Milly," he smiled as he got comfortable. "Whatcha got there?" He looked at her bag to see her lunch.

"Peanut butter and pudding pancakes," she said, hesitantly. "You want some?"

He looked at the pancake she handed him a second then took it a little cautiously. He held it up and examined it as she watched him then bit into it, chewed and contemplated the taste then finally swallowed before speaking.

"Hey," he smirked. "You know what, Milly, these are pretty good."

"Really?" she wondered as he took another bite, her face all alight. Trevor nodded as Milly giddily clapped her hands then turned to eat the rest of her lunch. "I'm glad you like it. Mr. Vash and Meryl never want any of my cooking so I thought it wasn't good."

"Well, your cooking is very good," Trevor nodded, finishing off the pancake in his hand and Milly giggled excitedly. After lunch they all went right back to work. All the workers crowded around a table with well blueprints on it that would be their guideline to building the well.

"Alright, people!" Trevor announced. "Listen up! If we can get this well built by the end of today and we won't have to work this hard again, unless something else breaks…"

Everyone laughed.

"…so let's get this done! You all know your jobs, right?"

"Yes," the crowd called in unison.

"Ok, then," Trevor replied. "Let's go do it!"

* * *

_End of the day..._

Everyone said their good byes and as Milly and Trevor went through the crowd they bumped into each other.

"Well," Trevor sighed. "I guess this is so long for now."

"Yeah," Milly nodded, casting her eyes down as she did.

"Unless…" Trevor amended and Milly shot her head back up to look at him. "Would you like to have dinner with me tonight?"

_Oh, my gosh!_ Milly thought frantically. _This is a dream! My alarm is gonna go off right now!_

"Yes," she quickly chirped. "I would _love_ to!"

Trevor grinned then nodded and said, "Ok. Well, then, I'll pick you up at seven. How does that sound?"

"That sounds great! You know where the house is?"

"Yeah, it's that way, right?" he gestured in the direction of the house and she nodded.

"Ok! I'll see you!" She turned and almost ran back to the house and when she got there she saw Vash sitting on the couch and Meryl in the kitchen.

"Hey Milly," Meryl said looking a little confused. "Are you ok?"

Milly ran to Meryl and told her about her day then darted into her room. She returned a while later, all dressed up for her date. She was showered, her hair was combed and she had some casual but nice clothes on.

Vash could see that she was really nervous, so thought he would reassure her that she looked good. He whistled at her as she walked to the door which made her blush and Meryl give him a little dirty look. He shrugged as if to ask, "What?" Milly watched through the screen door and saw a man in a nice suit walking toward the house.

"That's him!" she squeaked. "Bye guys!"

"Bye!" Vash and Meryl said in unison. They watched through the door as the cute couple walked down the road.

* * *

Knives opened his eyes. He was lying on his back with bandages covering the gunshot wounds his brother had made in him. He lifted his hand slowly to his aching head then sat up and looked around the room. He tried to remember what had happened and tried to figure out where he was. It suddenly all came back to him.

"Vash!" he growled. "Where is he?"

The smell of meat suddenly filled his senses and he heard his stomach grumble as his mouth began to water. He swung his legs off the bed and sat on the edge still holding his head. He stood up slowly, dropping his hand to his side then headed to the door and down the hall, following the scent of food.

As he walked down the hall he saw Vash sitting at the table and turned his head to see an unfamiliar face in the kitchen. Vash looked down the hall in time to see Knives as he stopped at the end of the hall.

"Knives!" Vash smiled, standing. "You're awake! Are you hungry?"

"You seemed surprised to see me awake, little brother," Knives replied coolly, raising an eyebrow. "Why is that?" He walked toward the table and took a seat at the head.

"I don't know," Vash admitted with a shrug as he took his seat again. "I just didn't think you'd be up so soon, that's all. I mean, aren't you in pain?"

"Not hardly," Knives retorted. Meryl watched from the kitchen as Knives only sat, glaring at her.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Vash excused. "Knives, this is Meryl."

Knives only raised a brow again, still maintaining his glare. She waved and turned back to cooking, obviously nervous about him. He didn't say a word and only stared at his hands sitting on the table.

"I hope you two are hungry," Meryl called, not looking away from her cooking. "These burgers are kinda big."

"Yes," Knives said tactfully. "I do have quite an appetite for some reason."

"That's understandable," Vash assured him. "Your body's gone a while without food."

"Really, Vash?" Knives replied sarcastically. "Because having all the intelligence that I do, I didn't know that."

Vash stuck his tongue out at Knives' remark but said nothing else. He was just glad he wasn't trying to kill Meryl. He guessed as long as they were serving him, he wouldn't do anything.

_He is such a child_, Knives thought.

"Dinner is served," Meryl said cheerfully, holding two plates with huge burgers on each.

"Wow, Meryl," Vash grinned. "They look great!"

"Thanks, Vash," Meryl chirped with a small smile that Vash answered with a goofy smirk.

Knives looked at his brother with a slight confused frown but as soon as Meryl put the plate in front of him he began stuffing his face without the control he usually had. As Meryl sat across from Vash to eat her food she stared at the two brothers stuffing their faces. They really looked identical.

_Food! Glorious food!_ Knives thought as he still ate then glanced at Meryl. _Why is that woman staring at me?_

He stopped eating, put his burger down and glared at her. She realized she must have upset him and turned to her own plate.

"What's the matter, Knives?" Vash wondered, his mouth full of food and Knives looked up at his brother.

"Nothing," he replied and turned back to his food to eat it at a normal pace.

"Isn't it nice, Vash," Meryl broke in, "that Milly found someone and she's not so sad about Wolfwood anymore?"

"Oh, yeah," Vash nodded, stuffing his face again. "That's really great!"

Knives looked at Meryl who only rolled her eyes at Vash and began to eat again. He then looked at his own plate in deep thought, going over everything. Who Wolfwood was, what he'd done to Vash…everything. He was waiting for the regret and guilt, but he knew he'd never feel it.

"So," Vash chirped, breaking the silence after a while. "Knives, how'd you sleep?"

Knives glared at Vash's grinning face. He really _hated_ how he could be so damn happy all the time.

"Well," he began. "Obviously not very well, little brother. I woke up with a splitting headache." He took another bite of his burger.

"Oh," Vash replied, his mouth rounding dramatically over the syllable. "I'm sorry about that. Do you want some water or something?"

Knives leaned on the table with his elbow and said, "If I wanted something, I would have _asked_ for it, Vash."

"Sorry, your Highness!" Vash retorted. "I was just making sure you were ok, that's all!" He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. "Sheesh, why you gotta be so mean, Knives?!"

Knives said nothing and didn't want to carry on much conversation with Meryl in the room.

_Why must I even __dine__ with this pathetic human?_ he wondered silently.

Despite everything Vash had told him during the battle, he _still_ didn't like humans. He never would and couldn't understand why Vash was so adamant about changing his mind about them. They were nothing but weak, pathetic wastes of creation. It should have just been him and Vash ruling this planet.

After dinner, Meryl cleared the table and started to walk back to the table when Vash met her halfway.

"I want you to go into your room," he whispered.

"Why?" Meryl wondered with a frown.

"Because I'm not too sure what Knives will say if I talk to him and some of it might hurt your feelings," Vash smirked, playfully and Meryl couldn't help but smile at his goofy face. She knew that wasn't _really_ why he wanted her to make herself scarce. She knew full well what Knives might do, and Vash wanted her safe, so she didn't ask any more questions.

"Ok," she whispered then stood on her tip toes and gently kissed his cheek making him blush slightly. "Good luck."

She walked away into her room and shut the door. Vash turned around to face his brother then walked to the table and took his seat. He crossed his arms again and stared at Knives.

"Why do you have to be so rude?" Vash began. "I just asked a question! You didn't have to be rude, especially with a lady in the room!"

Knives scoffed.

"It's not funny!"

"Of course it is," Knives replied. "Hearing you call that human a 'lady' is almost hilarious." He leaned over the table again to stare Vash in the eye. "And listen, little brother. If I, Millions Knives, your brother and superior need anything at all, I'll let you know."

He stood up and walked toward the door to stand on the porch, ignoring his brother's attempt to comment on his character. Once on the porch he leaned on the railing and looked up at the night sky. He stared at the fifth, blood red moon that gad a crater carved into it. Vash may have etched that crater, but it was _Knives_ who caused it. He knew that. He let his mind wander as he looked out beyond the town. He wanted to leave, but he knew Vash would come looking for him again.

_I'm so sick of this_, he admitted, silently. _I don't really __enjoy__ killing, I'm just trying to get rid of those who are too weak. I'm making room for the butterflies._

He instantly thought of Rem when that went through his mind. He suddenly wondered why he had killed her.

"No!" he growled lowly at himself. "Don't blame yourself! It was _her_ fault! She had her chance and she chose stupidity over her own life!" He gripped the railing so hard his fingers ached. "It's not my fault!"

"Knives," Vash called, interrupting his thoughts. He stood next to his twin and looked at him, trying to figure out what Knives was thinking. He only stared out at the horizon.

"You alright?" he tried. Knives said nothing and Vash sighed, looking out at the horizon then back at Knives.

_Just go away, you idiot!_ Knives pleaded silently.

"Hey, I've got an idea!" Vash suddenly grinned and Knives groaned inwardly. "Why don't we go for a walk? Just you and me! We can talk and bond with each other and stuff."

Knives stood tall, still looking away from Vash and still not saying a word. Vash looked toward the horizon again and saw a black speck moving towards the town. Knives found himself wanting very much to know what it was, and he couldn't understand why he was so drawn to it.

"What do you think it is, Knives?" When his twin didn't reply he frowned. "Knives?"

He was walking toward it.

"Aw, come on, Knives," he called. "It's probably just a cat or something. If you want, I'll get it!"

Knives still ignored his brother and just kept walking. Vash shrugged and went after him.

"You don't have to come," Knives finally said as Vash ran next to him. "I'm sure whatever it is I can take care of it myself."

"I'm sure you could," Vash replied. "But I wanna see what it is."

Knives smirked, still walking and facing the horizon and guessed, "You don't trust me, do you, dear brother?"

Vash glanced at Knives and replied in a low, serious voice, "Honestly, I don't know what to think about you anymore, Knives."

His twin scoffed with stopping or even looking at him.

"Well," Vash continued, rubbing the back of his neck. "Looks like I'm getting the walk I wanted!" He started laughing loudly and Knives gave him an annoyed glance, stepped a little ahead of him, raised his arm up and stopped dead, bracing his arm. Vash kept walking and ran into Knives' arm with a loud grunt.

"Hey!" Vash whined. "What'd you do that for?! It really hurt!"

"To get you to stop laughing," Knives replied, simply. "Now, come on."

"You could've just told me to stop," Vash whined again, rubbing his chest as they started walking again.

"I was too annoyed to talk."

"Well, at least you're _acting_ like a brother again," Vash grinned. "A kind of _mean_ brother, but a brother nonetheless!"

Knives rolled his eyes, but kept walking and thought, _He __is__ so stupid!_

**

* * *

**

**A/N: **and there ya have it. i hope i didnt go OOC with those little sibling rivalry scenes. there'll be more of that. i just figured Vash would bug the crap out of Knives with the way he is. DON'T WORRY VASH! WE STILL LOVE YOU! EVEN IF KNIVES IS A JACK ASS! lol. reviews, please?


	3. The New Girl

**A/N:** how mean am i? i had this chapter done and i just let it sit here for like a month! anyway, here it is! enjoy!

* * *

_**Chapter 3: The New Girl**_

She was out of water, out of food and had no idea where she was or which town she was walking towards. She had a wound on her thigh that made her limp a bit as she dragged her guitar on her back, a huge box looking thing in one hand she was using to support herself to walk. She was weak, tired, hungry, thirsty and felt near her end.

"I think…" she panted, "…I've lost him."

She fell, face first into the sand. She managed to roll onto her back to stare at the fifth moon and the crater on its surface.

"I wonder what Vash the Stampede looks like," she smiled. "He's probably _really_ cute."

She had only heard rumors about the Humanoid Typhoon and hoped that she would get to see him soon. She'd been looking for him long enough. She suddenly heard the sound of sand being stomped and arched her neck back to see two tall figures walking toward her. She reached for her gun, but was too weak to draw it from it holster. Every movement felt like it was weighted down with heavy weights. Fifty pounders, she guessed.

"Stay back!" she demanded, weakly but saw the edges of her vision going fuzzy and before she passed out she tried again to scare the figures away. "Stay…back…"

* * *

_The next morning..._

She woke up lying in a bed on her side. Her eyes fluttered open then shot wide when she realized she was in a bed and not in the sand outside. She sat up in the bed then looked around the room and saw her guitar, her amplifier and her gun-belt with her two knives dangling from it arranged on the desk under the window along with a typewriter. She soon realized that she wasn't wearing her usual outfit, but pajamas and a bandage on her leg where she was wounded.

"Who changed my clothes?!" she growled lowly. "Dog will pay _dearly_ for this!"

She was about to get out of the bed when the door suddenly opened to reveal a tall man with aqua-green eyes, a mole under the left one, pale skin and blonde hair that was spiked way up.

"Oh, wow, you're awake," the man said, cheerfully. "You sleep well?"

"Y-Yeah," the girl replied with wide eyes. Her stomach started to rumble and she placed her hand on it with an awkward smile. "It seems, I'm a bit hungry. I've been out there for a week now."

"Hungry, huh?" the man enquired. "I'll see if my friend, Meryl, can make some soup for you."

"Sounds good."

"Anything else I can do for you?"

"Yeah, actually. Would you mind telling me who the hell you are?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry." He walked toward the table to take a look at her things, making her straighten. "I'm Vash. You may have heard of me."

She stared at him, hardly moving, with her eyes as wide as the fifth moon itself.

"Y-You're Vash the Stampede?" she breathed and he turned to her. "The Humanoid Typhoon? The $$60 billion man? _You're_ Vash?!"

"Yeah," Vash replied hesitantly then rubbed the back of his neck and grinned, "You're not here for that stupid reward, are you? 'Cause, personally, I'm getting kinda tired of running from bounty hunters and police."

"No way," she chuckled, waving it off. "I'm not interested in pursuing bounty-hunting as a profession. I wanted to meet the legendary Vash the Stampede and, perhaps, challenge him to a quick draw? Bottles only, though. Definitely not to the death. I know you're against that."

"A challenge, huh?" Vash smirked. "Well, you _do_ have some pretty neat toys here, Miss…?"

"Nobara," she finished. "Nobara the Phantom. I wouldn't be surprised if _you've_ heard of _me_?"

Vash straightened and his eyes went wide as he stared at her in recognition then said, "You're the one that blew up that plant in Inepril!"

"Allegedly," she corrected then continued. "After you left, I went there, but I didn't do it! It was someone else. Someone else who's been following me." She cast her eyes down in her lap in thought.

_It was him. I saw him do it! Why won't anyone believe me?_

"Nobara?"

Her stare shot back to Vash.

"Sorry," she replied, shaking her head and waving it off again then jerked her head at her things. "So, you like them, huh?"

"Yeah," Vash smirked, lifting her gun from the belt and examining it. "I'm a bit surprised you only have a gun and a couple of knives."

"Oh, contraire," she smiled gesturing for her guitar. Vash frowned and picked it up with one hand, carefully then handed it to Nobara.

She began to play a few notes on it then held it up sideways, the notches in front of her, aiming at the window. She brought her hand under the strings, gripped the metal and pulled it toward her, making a cocking sound. She then positioned her hand into a chord on the strings and the tip of the guitar opened, revealing the barrel of a gun. She aimed out the open window and used the hand on the strings to strum across them. Gunfire sounded, and she hit the branch of a lone tree outside.

Vash noticed Meryl and Milly run into the doorway but he waved them off, silently mouthing it was ok and to go back into the living room. Milly sighed in relief but Meryl was hesitant as she headed down the hall. She knew Vash could handle whatever happened, but she knew he could sometimes be an idiot too. Nobara lowered her guitar, not noticing the two women leave down the hall and looked at Vash who looked back at her with a grin

"That's an awesome guitar!" he exclaimed and looked at the amplifier sitting on the floor then pointed at it and assuming it was also special asked, "What's that do?"

"Go on and push the button that says P2 above it," she smirked in amusement. He looked like a kid after Christmas. Vash leaned down to the box and pushed the button. The screen lowered until it was flat on the floor and revealed lots of tiny rockets lined up to neat perfection.

"Wow," Vash breathed. "How do you launch them?"

"You just push the button that says R and off they go! Hand me my gun belt, though, there's one more things."

Vash grabbed the belt that was hanging from the chair and handed it to her. She opened a small pocket on the belt and pulled out a black guitar pick. She held it up for Vash to see, then flicked it toward the far wall where it spun and stuck, hitting the wall on its edge.

"Nice," Vash nodded. "How'd you get all this?"

He walked to the wall and yanked the pick out of it then handed it back to Nobara.

"Well, I was lucky enough to have a rocker friend who's an inventor and weapons expert," she shrugged, putting the pick back in the pocket. "If you really like this stuff, I can probably get him to rig somethin' up for you."

"Nah," Vash replied. "That's alright, I've got enough weapons. Well, I'll see about that soup for ya." He took the guitar and gunbelt from her and arranged them on the desk again but as he was heading for the door he said, "Oh, if my brother comes in, just don't mind his attitude. He's pretty much always crabby."

He walked out of the room, closing the door behind him and she sat in the bed, staring at the door with wide, emerald eyes.

_I can't believe this!_ she thought. _I've finally met Vash the Stampede! And he even liked my toys!_

She flopped back onto the bed, ignoring the pain that sprung from her leg and stared out the window with a grin. The grin dropped when she thought of home. She wanted to go home, but at the same time she didn't. She _couldn't_. She wasn't an outlaw when she had left, but now she was wanted for $$50 million for a crime she didn't commit. How would she explain it to her family and friends?

Her mind wandered as she fell into a rem sleep. She awoke to the smell of soup and the sound of the door creaking open and rubbed her eyes as she sat up again, this time wincing at the injury on her leg. She straightened when she saw a man standing in the doorway holding a small table with a steaming bowl on it. He looked like Vash, a _lot_, except he had deep blue eyes, no mole and his hair was sand blonde with a different style cut and his skin tone was darker.

"Hello," she managed to say. He said nothing and just started walking toward the bed.

_Strong silent type, huh?_ she guessed to herself and her heart started racing as he drew closer. _Whoa, this is weird. I don't even know this guy! Although...he is kinda cute._

"What's your name?" she asked as he placed the table over her legs.

"Knives," he mumbled.

"I'm Nobara," she smiled, slightly. "You must be Vash's brother, right? I can see the resemblance." It was meant as a joke to lighten the mood. Of course there was a resemblance, she could tell right away that they were twins, but he said nothing and instead glared at her making her frown. "Is something wrong?"

"I shouldn't be serving you," he blurted. "_You_ should be serving _me_. I'm superior in race _and_ intelligence. You're only a pathetic human."

He turned to walk out the door but Nobara stopped him.

"Now wait just a minute!" she snapped, loudly. He turned to her again and watched her move the table from her lap and rise fully from the bed, once again ignoring the pain in her leg. "Who gave _you_ the right to judge me and class me as a pathetic human?! I'm a survivor just like all humans and anything but pathetic! What are you anyway if you're not human?!"

He raised an eyebrow at her in slight irritation and replied, "I am a plant. My brethren have helped your kind since we landed on this forsaken piece of rock and I suggest you treat me with respect!"

"Why should I respect you?" she wondered, even more enraged that he was "suggesting" she do something, which really meant he was _telling_ her. "Your kind may have helped us along, but we could've done just fine without you!"

He stalked towards her and her heart started pounding in her chest.

_This guy is a jerk! Why is my heart pounding like a frickin' drum?!_

He gripped her wrist and twisted it in his hand harshly making her cry out in more surprise than pain and her shoved her to her knees, still holding her wrist. He stared at her in the eye, and she stared back, anger writhing between them.

"You _will_ respect me, and from now on you will fall to your knees when either myself or my brother walks into the room, is that understood?"

She said nothing as she tried pulling her hand away but froze.

"Is that understood?!" he shouted once more and she only smirked.

"Oh, I understand," she replied through the smirk. She brought her other hand up to his shoulder and swung one leg around in front of her to hit his shins and kick him off his feet. Her leg hit his ankles and swept his feet out from under him and she pushed him back as he let go of her hand. His other hand, however, grabbed the collar of her shirt, pulling her with him.

_Oh, crap!_

She fell with a grunt on top of him and emerald eyes met his sapphires, making her heart pound in her chest, her mouth going dry. She placed her hand on the floor above his shoulders, pushed off of him and stood up as quickly as she could with her injured leg. She glanced toward him as he sat up on his elbows and stared at her with wide eyes and his mouth slightly agape.

"What?" she snapped. He shook his head once violently to snap himself back to reality and stood up quickly.

"Nothing," he muttered and turned to walk toward the door.

Just as he walked into the hall she called, "I'm not bowing to you!"

He stopped, gripping the doorknob and replied, "I didn't expect you to, really."

He shut the door behind him as he walked out and Nobara sat on the edge of the bed, staring into her lap.

_Ok, this is getting too weird,_ she thought to herself then placed a hand over her still racing heart. _What the hell is going on with me?_

Her heart had never raced like that, not even when she knew she was afraid but buried the fear with rage in battle. She couldn't understand it. Did he make her feel uneasy? Possibly. He had an aura of evil around him almost. The way he talked about humans being pathetic. He'd said that with such disdain. She wondered if he was good with a gun like Vash, then suddenly hoped she'd never find out. He seemed like the type who would blow your head off just for the hell of it.

_Still,_ she thought. _Maybe I'm wrong?_

* * *

Vash sat at the table and watched Meryl in the kitchen smiling as she made breakfast and Milly sat on the couch reading a book. Meryl suddenly stopped and glanced over her shoulder at him and he waved with his goofy grin. She shrugged happily and turned back to making breakfast.

_She's so pretty_ he thought then straightened when he glanced at the hall to see Knives approaching and cleared his throat.

"So, how's our friend doing?" he wondered at his brother as Knives took a seat at the head of the table, facing the door.

"She's fine," he muttered but Vash noticed a microscopic glint in his eyes and leaned closer to stare at his brother. What in the world did _that_ mean?!

"I heard some shouting in there," Vash reported, not taking his eyes from Knives. "Everything ok?"

"We had a bit of a…disagreement," Knives replied, taking a sip of orange juice. "It's fine now. She's eating her soup. No need to worry for her safety, little brother."

"It's not _her_ safety I'm worried about," Vash replied and Knives looked at him in confusion. "You don't know who she is, do you?"

Meryl stopped what she was doing and turned to look at Vash while Milly turned in her seat to look at him as well.

What do you mean, Vash?" Meryl wondered. "Who is she?"

Vash looked at Meryl and replied, "She's Nobara the Phantom, the Invisible Goddess. The $$50 million woman."

The shockwave rolled across the girls but Knives still sat, un-amused.

"So?" he shrugged and all eyes shot to him in disbelief. "She's a lesser version of you. Is that so bad?"

"Don't you know who she is?!" Vash squawked and Knives looked at his brother in amusement at Vash's panic.

"She's dangerous," Meryl broke in. "She's actually killed people and has a history of reckless behavior. She was in a sort of military school when she was sixteen and graduated early at twenty for high marks in tactical maneuvers, marksmanship and stealth. She's known for the destruction left in her wake and her ability to---"

"…Disappear without a trace."

The four turned to the hall where her voice had come from. She was leaning on her shoulder against the wall, arms crossed, a smirk over her lips. She had a bandage wrapped around her left thigh, only visible because she was wearing pajama shorts and a t-shirt, and her bright emerald eyes glowed with amusement as they pierced through a few strands of jet black hair that hung uneven from her bangs.

"Man," Nobara sighed, running a hand through her tousled hair. "You Bernardelli Insurance people are sure on the ball if you went and dug all that up little old me." She pushed off the wall and took a seat at the table before continuing, "Meryl, I must say, that soup was delicious. Pulled me right back on my feet, though the service could use a little improving."

Knives choked on the drink he'd taken from his juice and Nobara gave triumphant smirk. Meryl, Milly and Vash only stared at her in wonder until Meryl shot her gaze at Vash in an angry stare and he only shrugged. He hadn't mentioned _anything_ about where Meryl and Milly worked.

"Oh, don't blame him," Nobara objected, waving Vash off. "I have a way of finding things out on my own. Like you said, four years of military training don't get you nowhere, you know?"

"Well," Milly broke in as she stood from the couch with a grin. "Miss Nobara, I'm glad to see you up and about. We were really worried about you! How is leg feeling?"

Nobara turned to look at Milly and smiled, "Yeah, it's feeling a lot better. Thanks for asking, Milly."

All eyes shot to her in confusion, except for Knives who only frowned at the rest of them and Nobara looked around then don at her lap.

_How is she doing this?_ Vash wondered. _I didn't mention anyone else's name except Meryl's. How does she know things she shouldn't?_

"It's a gift," Nobara replied, as if answering Vash's question and still staring down at her lap. "Someday, maybe really soon, I'll tell you all exactly what it is. But for…" She lifted her head and placed a silent finger over her lips as she continued, "…it's a secret between my and myself."

They all stared at her for a moment before Meryl broke in and asked, "Well, how did you _get_ that wound, anyway?"

Nobara turned to face Meryl with a smile and replied, "Well, since you asked.

"It all started back in a bar at the last city I was in. I don't even remember what town it was. Anyway, I was in the bar, havin' a drink, minding my own business and this guy that's been following me around since that legendary day in Inepril, walked in. I don't know why he's been following, but everywhere I go, he ends up framing me for things I haven't done, the plant blow-up in Inepril being the first.

"Well, I sat there, sippin' at my glass of whiskey, and he comes up behind me and shoves the barrel of his gun into my back. He said: 'This is it, Nobara. Now your ass is mine!'

"Well, me being the smarty that I am, I happened to notice he was standing in front of my amp missile launcher. So I said, 'Oh, I don't think so.' and stepped on the button that opened the thing up. The screen slammed right onto his foot and he let out a priceless girlish scream. Well, needless to say, he wasn't _aiming_ for my leg when he shot it.

"I got outta there somehow and I think I lost him back there last night."

_Let's hope she did_, Vash thought to himself.

"You say he 'framed' you," Meryl spoke up. "If you were the only one in that plant when it blew up how can you say someone framed you?"

Nobara's smile dropped, her eyes glowing in anger and Meryl caught sight of Vash shaking his head with wide eyes, but it was too late. She'd already asked the question.

"Look," Nobara replied as calmly as she could. "I know you don't believe me and personally, I don't care because I _know_ the truth. I _wasn't_ the only person in that plant and if anything, I was trying to save it from being destroyed." She turned to sit properly at the table, casting her eyes onto its surface as she leaned on it before continuing. "I'm sorry that all those people died, I really am. I tried to save them, but it backfired on me. I'm sorry."

She looked up at Vash with nothing but sorrow and guilt in her emerald eyes. He sighed when he saw the glint of a tear stream down her cheek.

_I can't doubt her story when she looks at me like that_, he thought and glanced at Knives. _I'm sort of in the same situation._

His eyes suddenly widened a little as he watched Knives drinking his juice and staring at Nobara. There was almost the slightest glimmer of compassion but it was gone in a second.

"That sounds awful!" Milly chimed in, running to Nobara and throwing her arms around her.

"Yeah," Nobara shuddered. "Well, I'm tired of running. If I haven't lost this guy then I'll just have to deal with him the simple way. Much as I hate to do it, I just might have to…"

"Kill him," Knives finished for her, simply and she looked up at him with a solemn nod.

_No!_ Vash yelled at them in his head and didn't fail to notice Nobara glance at him as if he'd said it aloud. _There's __always__ another solution! I can't let her do that! Think, Vash! __Think!_

"You can't!" Vash suddenly shouted, standing to his feet and all eyes shot to him. "You can't kill him, because he's the only one who will confess. If we catch him and take him to the sheriff of this town, he'll have to confess, then the bounty on your head will be lifted."

Nobara stared at him for a moment and the subtle trace of a smirk crossed her lips, as if she'd _known_ what he had said _before_ he'd said it, and she replied, "I didn't think about that. That's makes a lot of sense."

"No," Knives suddenly spoke up in a low voice and all eyes shot to him but he only looked to Vash as he said, "Tell me, what makes you think this man will confess once he's caught?"

_He can't just let any of this go, can he?_ Vash thought. _He has to be contrary and prove humans are everything he __thinks__ they are._

"He'll have to," Meryl broke in and everyone turned to her. "If we catch him in this town, after we've found Nobara, it'll prove that he _has_ been following her and the authorities will wonder why he is, other than the fact that he's a bounty hunter. Then that leaves the question, how did he know she was in _this_ town before anyone else if he _wasn't_ following her?"

Vash smiled at Meryl who glanced at him and blushed ever so slightly, but he couldn't take his eyes off of her. He'd known the whole time they'd been together, but he was always in awe of how smart she was. He looked at his brother who only fiddled with his glass as it sat on the table. At least it had silenced him about killing for the moment. He may not have been the one to bring it up, but Vash knew his twin had no qualms about doing it.

Nobara stood up from the table, her hands on its surface for support and nodded, "So that's it, then. If or when that guy shows up we'll catch him and take him to the feds." She chuckled at herself and rubbed the back of her neck with a smirk and murmured, "Easier said than done." She looked up and around again and asked, "By the way, where are my clothes?"

"Oh, right," Milly smiled and Nobara turned to her. "They were so dirty and full of blood, but I washed them!"

Nobara's eyes grew wide and she asked, "Did you check the pocket of my coat before you did that?"

Milly's eyes grew wide in turn and she trembled, "No! I forgot!"

"I didn't," Meryl chimed in, calmly and Nobara whipped around to see her holding up a pair of small, sunglasses with black lenses and silver frames and she was smirking triumphantly. "Are _these_ what you're talking about?"

Nobara grinned and ran to Meryl with outstretched arms to take her glasses as she said, "Thank goodness! Thanks, Meryl."

"Wow," Vash grinned. "Those must be some really valuable shades if you get _that_ freaked out over losing them."

Nobara looked at him and nodded, but said nothing of what they meant to her. Instead she turned to the table and began, "I'd like to ask you all something, and I want the truth." They were all silent as they glanced around at each other in confusion but she only asked, "Who changed my clothes last night?"

The girls looked at Vash who held his hands up in surrender and replied without thinking, "Hey, whoa, wait a minute. You girls've got the wrong twin!"

His eyes widened at himself and he cautiously looked over at Knives who was still fiddling with his glass. He didn't look at Nobara, but he turned a burning gaze up his younger twin.

_Oh, crap_ Vash thought. _He's gonna kill me! I broke the sibling code or something!_

"You?" Nobara wondered, staring at the back of Knives' head with wide eyes as he still didn't look at her. "_You_ changed my clothes?"

Knives continued to stare at Vash who started backing away thinking, _Here it comes. Just back away…nice and slow._

Knives stood up slowly and the girls only stared on in wonder, Meryl and Milly hoping this wouldn't get messy and Nobara wondering how messy it would get. She understood sibling rivalries, but this looked like a little more than that.

Knives suddenly lunged forward, tackling Vash to the floor screaming, "I'm going to _kill_ you!"

That was promptly followed up by, "Stop! Please! Ow! You're injured, remember?!"

"You weren't supposed to say anything, you traitor!"

"I'm not mad!" Nobara shouted, trying to break up the fight but after they ignored her she only shrugged and smirked, "Boys will be boys, I guess."

* * *

**A/N:** ah, sibling rivalry. i couldn't help it! Knives and Vash _beg_ to have some funny sibling rivalries written for them! anyway, what will come of this new comer? let's find out... reviews?


	4. Secret Powers

**A/N:** sorry this took so long! me getting to go to AX has inspired me! new chappie! enjoy!

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_**Chapter 4: Secret Powers**_

Meryl rolled her eyes as the brothers wrestled another moment longer. It really amazed her how two grown men, particularly _these_ two men, could act like such children. Supposing she should break up the fight, and realizing she'd need help, she tapped Nobara on the arm and nodded toward the boys, silently telling her to help break it up. Nobara smiled and nodded then the two women walked toward the two men on the floor, quickly.

"Alright, you two," Meryl scolded, as the two lifted them to their feet, Nobara standing between the two to push Knives away from Vash. "I think that's enough now, knock it off!"

"The woman's right!" Nobara agreed. "You're grown men. Get a grip!"

"He _did_," Vash groaned, rubbing his throat pointedly then quickly ducked behind Meryl to stick his tongue out at Knives, childishly.

"I'm gonna wipe that stupid smile off your smug face, you little whelp!" Knives snarled, lunging toward Vash again but Nobara pushed him back again with all her strength.

"Hey!" she boomed at Knives and he looked down at her in surprise. "Knock it off! I'm not mad! I don't really care!" She backed up and pointed at the chair she had been sitting in and ordered, "Now sit down!"

"You don't give _me_ orders," Knives retorted.

"Oh, would you get off your high Thomas and sit down!" Nobara shot back and all were a bit surprised when he only rolled his eyes and did what he was told. All of them knew Millions Knives took no orders, _especially_ from humans.

"Now, you," Nobara said, pointing at Vash then pointed to the chair across from Knives and ordered, "You sit down over there."

"But _he_ started it!" Vash whined about Knives. "Why do _I_ have to sit down?"

"To keep the peace!" she snapped. "Sit!"

Vash groaned and did as he was told as well, and Meryl couldn't help but notice that for someone who didn't like _taking_ orders, she certainly didn't have a problem _giving_ them.

"That's better," Nobara nodded in satisfaction. "Can we have a nice breakfast now, boys?"

The brothers glared at each other for a moment then looked away and mumbled in unison, "Yes."

"Good!" Nobara nodded with a grin and looked at Meryl, still grinning. Meryl smiled back, slightly and walked back to the kitchen as Milly stood in awe, watching Nobara walk to the head of the table and sit down, her back facing the kitchen.

"So, Milly," Meryl called, breaking the silence and making Milly jump a bit and draw her attention to Meryl. "How was your date with Trevor last night?"

"Oh," she smiled, her shock disappearing as she headed toward the table. "It was really nice! He took me to the restaurant where you work, Meryl!" She sat down next to Knives, who was looking down at the table in boredom. "He pulled out my chair for me and even paid for dinner! He's so nice! We're going out again tomorrow night!"

"That's great, Milly!" Nobara grinned, making Milly smile as well. "He's really lucky to have found _you_."

"Lucky," Knives scoffed at her choice of words and Nobara Kicked his shin under the table without breaking face as Knives jumped, growling, "Ow!"

Vash snickered, making Knives glare at his brother in rage.

"Anyway," Meryl continued for the kitchen. "What did you two talk about, Milly?"

"Oh, everything, really," Milly said then looked to Vash as he traced invisible circles on the table. "But he seemed really interested in _you_, Mr. Vash."

"Really?" Vash wondered as all eyes trained on the two, Knives still bored as he leaned back in his chair, ignoring the conversation. "What did he ask you?"

"Oh, just how you were doing," Milly shrugged. "Come to think of it, he asked to hear some stories about you. He wanted to hear all about what I had seen of you. He thinks I'm a really good story-teller!"

"Milly," Meryl called from the kitchen, catching the girl's attention as Meryl turned to face her. "You should be careful. That bounty is still on Vash's head. _Anyone_ could come around at _any_ time looking to collect it."

"But I don't think Trevor is one of those people," Milly replied.

"Sure he is," Knives suddenly chimed in, drawing all eyes to him. "Humans are capable of anything deceitful. Why else would he ask about Vash?"

"Knives!" Nobara snapped. "That's not fair! Not _everyone_ is as deceitful as you think!"

"But some people _are_," Meryl murmured, looking down at the floor before looking up at the eyes that had turned to her incredulously. "I'm not saying he _is_, I'm only saying we have to be careful."

Milly stood, tears starting to well up in her eyes, her hands clenched into fists at her sides and Meryl felt her heart clench in guilt.

_Why did I have to open my big mouth?_ Meryl groaned inwardly and tried to apologize, but Milly ran down the hall, everyone except Knives, wincing when they heard the slam of the door to her room. Meryl bowed her head in shame before sighing and heading toward the hall, thinking, _Why did I say that?_

"Where are you going?" Vash frowned in wonder, stopping her and she looked to him.

"I have to talk to her," Meryl explained and started to head down the hall but was stopped again.

"Wait," Nobara called. Meryl gave a frown and turned to her as she stood and stepped in front of her. "Let _me_ go talk to her first. She'll wanna yell first. She can yell at _me_. Go ahead and finish breakfast."

She started toward the hall as Meryl stared at her with wide eyes, thinking, _I don't believe this! She's acting like she's been with us forever! She doesn't know what Milly will do!_

"I know more than you think," she whispered so that only Meryl would hear her, making Meryl's eyes shoot wide at her. "Trust me, she's more angry than sad right now."

Meryl said nothing as Nobara walked down the hall. They heard a knock on Milly's door then the creek of the door being opened and closed again. Meryl stood still, not knowing what to do and wondering what Nobara had meant by everything she said.

"What did she say, Meryl?" Vash wondered with a frown, starting her from her shock and making her shoot a wide-eyed gaze at him as he stared back in wide-eyed confusion.

"Just…what you heard," she lied, hesitantly as she turned to the kitchen again. "I'll just finish breakfast. Don't start fighting, you two. I don't wanna have to shoot you."

She turned to making breakfast, her motions on auto-pilot as she thought, _I just don't understand. How is she able to understand more than __I__ think she does?_

She placed a few pancakes on a plate and set it aside then placed some on two other plates and served them to Vash and Knives.

"Alright," Nobara suddenly called, appearing from the hallway, making Meryl jump as she turned around. "If you wanna talk to her, now's your chance."

_The Phantom strikes again_, Meryl thought as she nodded when Nobara met her gaze before the green-eyed girl sat at the table again, reaching toward Knives' plate to pick some pancake from it. He frowned incredulously at her and pulled his plate out of her reach, but not before she'd grabbed a piece. She grinned with a chuckle, leaning back in her chair and popping the piece of pancake into her mouth with Knives glaring at her.

"Oh, you leave _her_ alone!" Vash snapped at his twin.

"Don't start," Nobara scolded as Meryl picked up the plate she'd set aside and walked into the hallway, slowly creeping toward Milly's door and opening it slowly.

"Milly?" she called cautiously, peeking into the room. She was sitting on the bed, her head in her hands, her shoulders shuddering with slight sobs. She looked to the doorway, tears staining her cheeks. Meryl smiled and held the plate of pancakes up as she slowly stepped toward Milly.

"I brought a peace offering," she murmured, sitting next to the taller girl on the bed and holding the plate out to her. "I'm sorry they're plain, but you haven't eaten anything yet."

Milly wiped her tears with the sleeve of her shirt and looked to the plate and took it without looking at the other woman and shuddered, "Thank you."

Meryl looked to her lap, twiddling her thumbs before she murmured, "I'm sorry, Milly." She looked to Meryl as she continued, "I'm sorry about what I said. I didn't mean to accuse Trevor of anything, I just don't want anything to happen to us…_all_ of us."

"Especially Mr. Vash," Milly finished with a smile and Meryl looked to her with a very slight blush and small smirk of embarrassment that she was so easy to read.

"Yes, especially Vash."

Milly nodded and smiled, "You _really_ like him, don't you Meryl?"

"Yes," Meryl nodded, going back to twiddling her thumbs. "I really do."

Milly stood with her pancakes and faced Meryl as she said, "_I'm_ the one who should apologize for not being as careful as I should have been when telling people about Vash the Stampede!"

Meryl shot to her feet and said, "No, Milly. I had no right to judge Trevor and say what I said. _I'm_ sorry."

"I would have done the same thing if it was me and Mr. Wolfwood, Meryl," Milly smiled in reassurance and Meryl smiled as tears started pricking her eyes. "Don't cry, Meryl. Thank you for breakfast!"

"You're welcome, Milly," Meryl smiled, wiping away the tears in her eyes.

They heard the a crash of a plate and looked to the door in wide-eyed wonder and worry before running toward it and meeting Nobara in the hall coming out of the room across the hall. The three looked at each other in confusion before hurrying toward the main room to see Vash and Knives on the floor, fighting again.

Nobara threw her hands in the air in exasperation as she shouted, "I _can't_ believe you two! I'm gone for a few seconds and you're at each other's throats _again_!"

"Ow! Stop it! Come on! It was just a joke!" Vash cried between Knives' punches.

"Hey!" Meryl shouted at them, the three girls standing in the hall. "What happened?"

"Sitting in a tree, huh? I'll have you sitting in your _grave_ when I'm through with you!" Knives yelled over his brother's cries.

"Alright, I've had _enough_ of you two!" Nobara snapped, marching toward them. Meryl darted next to her as a helping hand and once again, they pulled Vash to his feet and backed Knives away.

"Knock it off!" Meryl snapped. "You'll _kill_ each other!"

"Yeah!" Nobara agreed. "Now, I'm only gonna ask this once: what happened?"

"You say it, I _will_ kill you," Knives ground out, pointing at Vash with an angry index finger.

"It was a _joke_!" Vash insisted. "It didn't mean anything!"

"_What_ was a joke?" Meryl asked, turning to face Vash. He looked down and twiddled his thumbs in front of him.

"That Nobara and Knives were…sitting in a tree," Vash confessed in a mumble. "K-I-S-S-I-N-G."

Nobara's hand flew her to her mouth to stifle a snicker, but it came out anyway, making everyone's gaze shoot to her.

"See!" Vash called, pointed at her in excitement. "_She_ thinks it's funny!"

Meryl rolled her eyes as Knives narrowed his to glare at his twin.

"I…" Knives ground his fists clenched at his sides. "I…am going, to _kill_ you!"

He lunged toward Vash who screamed, turned, and bolted out the door, Knives following close behind. Nobara bowed her head in exasperation, planting the heel of her hand to her forehead with a heavy sigh as Meryl shook her head.

"Why does he do that?" Meryl wondered. "He _knows_ Knives is gonna go after him, doesn't he?"

"Boys are weird," Nobara sighed before lifting her head and marching toward the door the brothers had disappeared through, Milly setting her plate of pancakes on the table before following her and Meryl out the door and onto the porch.

They watched as Vash ran off the porch and in front of the house, Knives on his heels. The younger twin turned sharply, his brother followed. He ran around in circles, screaming, flailing his hands in the air. Knives stopped and watched Vash circle around him several times. The girls watched from the porch as Knives raised his arm to his side and when Vash ran around, he hit the back of Knives' arm with a loud grunt before falling to the ground on his back. Knives turned his head to look at his brother over his shoulder.

"I win again," he smirked, triumphantly.

"Why do you always clothesline me like that?" Vash whined, sitting up and rubbing his chest as Knives turned to face him.

"Why do you always fall for it?" Knives retorted, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I really wish they would stop fighting," Milly murmured to Meryl then shrugged, "Well, at least they're not _shooting_ at each other! That's a good thing!"

"A _very_ good thing," Meryl nodded, choosing not to fill her in on what Vash had told her happened when they met.

"Ok, boys!" Nobara called, walking down the steps and toward the feuding brothers. "Look, I understand you're brothers and all, but all this sibling rivalry is just getting stupid. Why can't you two behave like grown men?"

"He insinuated that you and I were-!"

"It's not _my_ fault he can't take a joke-!"

The brothers began yelling at once, one shouting: "You need to lighten up!" the other snapping: "You are such a child!" and both trying to get the last word.

"Oh…my…God…I've heard _enough_ out of you two!" Nobara shouted, standing between them and holding a hand each in front of their faces to silence them. They both instantly stopped talking and looked down at her.

_She's awfully forceful_, Milly thought to herself, she and Meryl watching the scene from the porch. _I guess that's what happens when you've been to military school._

"Alright," Nobara sighed, putting her hands down. "Now, you've made me come out here in my pajamas, so you both had better _pray_ I'm merciful on you when we get inside." She stepped next to Vash and pointed toward the house. "Let's all go in the house now, and try to reason through this calmly and without anymore fistfights, alright?"

The two men looked at each other.

"I won't be _ordered_ by _anyone_, much less a _human woman_," Knives ground out as Vash trudged toward the house. Nobara stepped in front of Knives and glared at him as he set his jaw, stubbornly glared back at her.

"Suck it up and get in the house, Knives," she ground out.

They glared at her for another moment before Knives snarled and turned to head into the house, Nobara following. Knives shoved past Vash, making him stumble as the girls on the porch ducked away from the door to let him pass, Nobara following and Vash trailing after. Once in the house, Nobara walked to the head of the table, facing the door and pointed to the chairs on either side of her.

"Ok, boys," she said. "Sit, please."

Vash walked around the table and sat at her left while Knives plopped into the seat at her right, his arms crossed over his chest. In turn, she sat down and folded her hands on the table. Meryl and Milly walked to the couch and sat on their knees, leaning on the back, facing the three sitting at the table.

_I hope she doesn't bring out any weapons_, Milly thought. _She looks mad enough._

"Don't worry, Milly," Nobara smirked, slightly. "I'm not _that_ angry."

She winked and Milly gasped as she and Meryl looked at each other with wide eyes, thinking, _How does she do that?_

"Now," Nobara chirped, turning to the men in front of her. "What exactly is the problem here?"

"_He_ is an immature, pathetic wimp who refuses to grow up," Knives shrugged. "Are we finished now?"

"Oh, like _you're_ acting mature!" Vash retorted.

"Shut it! Both of you! I said calm, with no fighting," Nobara reiterated.

"I don't have to sit here and take this," Knives chuckled, before standing and starting to walk toward the hall.

"Knives!" Nobara called as she stood. "Where do you think you're going? We're not finished!"

Knives stopped and turned to face her and smirked, "Actually, we are, because I _refuse_ to take anymore orders from a head-strong human who knows _nothing_ about what's happened between my brother and I!"

He turned to head down the hall again as Nobara turned to face forward, still standing and she looked at Vash as she called, "Project Seeds."

All eyes shot to her as Knives made a dead stop outside the hall and Vash stood, Meryl and Milly gasping in shock. Knives turned and marched toward Nobara and stood right in front of her, bringing his face inches from hers.

"How can you know about that?" he ground out, his sapphire eyes glowing with anger.

"I told you," she murmured, meeting his gaze. "It's a gift. Something I'll tell you about, someday."

Knives grabbed her arms firmly shifted the chair with his foot so they would be face to face and pushed her into the chair, leaning on the arms to look her in the eye. Vash stepped around the table, ready to pull his brother away if he got too rough, and he was _sure_ he would get too rough.

"You'll tell us _now_," Knives growled and Milly noticed Nobara's hands starting to tremble only slightly.

She couldn't believe that the great Invisible Goddess who fought fearlessly in any firefight she found herself in was trembling. However, when it came to Millions Knives being very close, and very _angry_, she didn't blame her in the least.

"Tell us _now_!" Knives snapped as he gripped the arms of the chair and picked it up slightly only to slam it back down again, shaking Nobara in the chair.

"Knives! What the hell?" Vash yelled, stepping toward his twin to pull him off the chair and shove him away.

"It's alright," Nobara replied softly, causing everyone's attention to be drawn to her again as she shifted to lean an arm on the table. "I…I'm telepathic. I can…read people's thought and talk to them with my mind. I'm also telekinetic…" She trailed off and glanced to the plate of pancakes Milly had set on the table, then held her hand out to it, murmuring, "Watch…"

The plate suddenly floated into the air, slowly and they all watched in wonder as it was gently set back down before Meryl stood from the couch to walk toward her.

"Why didn't you tell us before?" she wondered stepping next to Vash and Nobara looked up at her.

"I didn't want you to be afraid," she explained. "I was afraid you'd get scared of someone who had the ability to read your mind. Thoughts are private!"

Milly stood from the couch as well and headed toward the rest of the group, saying, "Well, being told about something greater than your is better than _not_ being told."

"I know," Nobara mumbled, looking down at the table again. "I'm sorry. I just wanna fit in. I don't wanna keep running from one bounty-hunter just to find myself closer to the clutches of _another_ one. I just wanna be…normal."

Milly's eyes began to well up with tears as she knelt down to hug the group's new found friend, saying, "You're so wonderful!"

They all looked at Milly in confusion at her words. They were thoughtful, but random, nonetheless.

"I don't…think I understand what you mean by that, Milly," Nobara struggled through her suffocating grip.

Milly let go of her and held herself at arms length as she grinned, "You're great just the way you are! Everything you've gone through in life is part of who you are, and that's what makes you special. Everyone has their own path. The obstacles and the way we get past them are part of what make everyone unique and special."

Nobara had been staring at her with wide eyes and now, they were full of tears as she threw her arms around Milly in a grateful hug.

"You're so right," she shuddered. "I couldn't understand it before, but now I do. This is one thing I have to get through to become a stronger person. Thank you, Milly."

"You're welcome, Miss Nobara," Milly smiled, patting her back gently.

She looked to Vash, Meryl, and Knives as if to signal a group hug. Vash and Meryl smiled warmly before Vash moved behind Nobara and wrapped his long arms around her and Milly, Meryl knelt next to Milly to wrap her arms around the two as well. Knives didn't move. He only stood to the side and sneered in disgust at the scene.

_Why is he always so angry?_ Milly thought to herself.

_He'll come around_, a familiar voice popped into her head, and she looked to Nobara, who gave her a wink and a smile as the four separated.

"Ok," Nobara sighed quickly, sitting up straight. "I'm fine now. Thanks guys."

Knives scoffed and all eyes shot to him, making him look back at them in wonder as he shrugged, "What? She's fine now. You didn't seem to need _me_ included in this."

"No one said anything Knives," Nobara smirked, wiping her dying tears. "Feeling guilty?"

Knives straightened and coolly replied, "Of course not. "Why should I feel guilty? You have enough people here to comfort you. I may as well not even _be_ here."

"Jealous," Vash blurted, and Knives shot his gaze at his brother who threw a hand over his mouth and stared back at him with wide eyes.

"What was that, little brother?" Knives asked through clenched teeth, his fists clenching as well. "What was that you said?"

"N-N-Nothing!" Vash sputtered, backing up.

"Oh, don't start again," Nobara sighed, irritably then asked, "Vash? I _would_ like to hear about that whole 'sitting in a tree' situation. What brought that on?"

Knives looked to Nobara in shock as she turned to look at Vash and he did the same, sending a glare at his brother as he looked back at him, the girl glancing between the boys.

"Uh…" Vash hummed, glancing between the two. "I'm not supposed to say, 'cause if I do he's gonna kill me."

He pointed to Knives, making Nobara frown and look around at the older twin and wave him off, huffing, "Oh, please. He's not gonna kill you. _I_ won't let him. Just tell me."

"Well, if you _really_ wanna know, why don't you just read my mind?" Vash retorted, laughing and Nobara gave a sly smile, lifting a brow of amusement at him.

"Ok," she shrugged, standing and stepping toward him. "Hold still."

Vash frowned in her in wonder as she stood in front of him, lifting her hands to either side of his head and closed her eyes for dramatic affect. She could read his mind without the show, but she decided to have some fun with it this time, and she smirked as Vash froze while the others stared on in shock. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes, lowered her hands and Vash looked at her expectantly. She looked at Vash, then to Knives, then back to Vash and burst into laughter. The four looked around at each other in confusion.

"Oh, Knives!" Nobara gasped, doubling over with laughter. "You _do_ need to lighten up!"

"See?" Vash called, pointing to her and looking at Knives with wide, aqua eyes. "I told you!"

Nobara's laughter came even harder as she sat down to continue laughing. Knives glared at his brother then turned and marched down the hall. The four head the slam of the door as Nobara instantly stopped laughing and they all stared down the hall where he'd disappeared.

"He's always so angry," Vash murmured, drawing everyone's attention to him, except Nobara who still stared down the hall. "I don't know why. I've tried to talk to him, but the only thing he _really_ enjoys is beating me up."

"No," Nobara murmured and the others looked to her as she stood, not looking at them. "You've both been through a lot. It just took a different toll on him." She looked to Vash and wondered, "Want _me_ to talk to him?"

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**A/N:** ooh, things are gonna get interesting! reviews?


	5. Surprise, Surprise

**A/N:** another chappie! more new wave gun action! lol! enjoy!

* * *

_**Chapter 5: Surprise, Surprise**_

Knives sat on the edge of the bed looking down at the floor. He pictured Nobara laughing after she had read Vash's mind.

"Why did I think I could _trust_ him?" he ground out, his fists clenching on his knees. "I can't even trust my own brother with a simple secret! I don't _love_ her. How _could_ I? She's a lowly human! I only happen to think she's attractive! He is such an idiot!"

He stood up and faced his back to the door on his left and started unbuttoning his shirt to take off his bandages.

"She's a _human_!" he repeated, nearly ripping at his shirt in irritation. "Deceitful, cruel, lying, cheating, beautiful…beautiful…"

Her face popped into his mind again as he loosened his grip on his shirt and breathed, "Such eyes…and that body-" He cut himself off and shook his head furiously. "No! She's a human! She could never match up to _me_ in _any_ way! She's so…primitive!"

He stripped off his shirt and tossed it onto the bed before moving to start at the bandages-

"Knives?"

He shot a glance to the door at the sound of her timid call and noticed her standing in an open doorway. He hadn't even heard her open the door. It was then that he noticed she never let an opportunity of demonstrating how she'd earned her names pass her by. And he had to admit, she was skilled at it.

He didn't stand, but instead leaned his elbows on his knees and blurted, "What do you want?"

Nobara said nothing as she closed the door before stepping toward him and sitting next to him on the bed, the mattress creaking under her weight as he looked away from her as she looked to the floor.

"I'm sorry I laughed," she murmured, making him look at her with wide, sapphire eyes. "I wasn't laughing at _you_. I guess it's just the way he thinks…it's funny." She smiled and looked at him, but he only glared at her, making her smile drop as she looked to the floor again before asking, pointedly at his bandages, "How did that happen?"

"You can read minds, can't you?" Knives retorted. "Don't you know?"

Nobara glared back at him and ground out as calmly as she could, "Yes, but I'd like to hear _you_ tell me."

He felt the urge to simply start talking, but he somehow fought it to watch her glare at him. For some reason, he thought she was rather…cute when she glared at him that way. Was it the way her eyes narrowed? No, it had to be the way she set her jaw. Shaking his trance away slightly he resigned himself to the fact that, since she knew, he may as well humor her. Maybe it would make her go away and he wouldn't feel so inclined to stare at her, much as he would have done for hours. Leaning forward and folding his hands in front of him as she stared at him, expectantly.

"Vash found me a few days ago," he explained, not looking at her. "We fought and I ended up with a bullet in each shoulder, one in each thigh and one in my side."

She shifted and touched his upper-arm, making his heart race as he looked up at her with wide eyes as she gently leaned her head on his shoulder, murmuring, "Does it still hurt?"

Knives felt like his heart was about to leap out of his chest as he swallowed, quietly before roughly answering, "No. I heal quickly and completely. I was going to take the bandages off when you came in. Why do you care?"

She looked up at him, her head still on his shoulder as he chanced to look at her and felt his hands start to sweat.

_What is this?_ he thought irritably. _What is this hold she has on me? It's annoying as hell!_

"Because you need someone who cares," Nobara whispered. "You've been through so much without anyone caring for you the way Rem did."

Knives reached across to grab her arm and pulled her to her feet as they both stood and he bored his burning blue gaze into her shocked green one.

"Do _not_ mention her again," he growled. "You know _nothing_ about it except what you've read in our minds. You never had to _live_ it. You never had to go through what _I_ did with those humans! The heartless, cruel, brutal animals that only tolerated us for _her_! Because _she_ asked them to!"

"My point exactly!" Nobara shot back, yanking her arm from his grip and glaring at him again. "You hate humans because of what a _few_ did to you! But those were just those people, not the whole race! You can't stereotype us just because of a few bad apples in the bunch! It's stupid!"

"No more stupid than _killing each other of your own race_!" Knives shot back, stepping close enough to loom over her and she only glared up at him.

"There are good guys, and bad guys," she replied. "The good guys can do nothing but defend themselves, and sometimes, that means getting your hands a little dirty."

"Don't let your _precious_ idol, Vash the Stampede hear you say that," he snapped. "He'll disown you."

"Don't change the subject!" she shot back. "You can't be _this_ angry at the whole damn, human race!"

"Yes, I _can_!" he boomed. "After what they did to me and Vash, what you do to each other, it's all to try to prove your superiority above each other. Is there _nothing_ more important to your species than _that_?"

"Plenty!" Nobara snapped. "Like _this_…!"

She threw her hands to his neck and pulled him toward her to plant her lips to his, making his eyes shoot wide in shock, but he didn't attempt to push her away or step away himself. He instantly gripped her hips and pulled her close enough to close the gap between them completely when she gathered his lower lip into her mouth and bit it gently. He growled in arousal and turned her around to shove her onto the bed, him landing on top of her, still in their lip lock. Nobara gave a moan as she slid her arms around his neck, wrapping her legs around his waist as Knives supported himself above her with his hands on either side of her on the mattress.

_What are you doing?_ he shouted at himself, but didn't pull away from her. _She's a human! What the hell are you __thinking__?_

_You're not._

Knives shot his eyes open to stare at her as he froze and her emerald gaze found his sapphire one, glowing mischievously as she smiled against his lips.

_Don't look so surprised. I told you I could do this, didn't I?_

He pulled away and narrowed his gaze at her, demanding, "Stop it."

She frowned in wonder, still coiled around him and asked, "What?"

"Talking to me through our thoughts," he explained, seriously. "I don't even like it when _Vash_ does that, so stop it."

Nobara nodded, moving her hands to run them through his short, sand blonde hair. He groaned, his eyes slowly shutting as he was lost in a feeling of bliss at her fingers messaging his scalp before he leaned toward her, planting his lips to hers and plunged his tongue into her mouth, making her moan and arch her back, slightly.

A knock at the door made them stop, but they didn't pull away as they opened their eyes and frowned at each other.

"Knives?" Vash called from the other side of the door, and Knives rolled his eyes as he pulled away from Nobara's mouth, making her giggle, softly.

"What do you want?" he snarled at the door as Nobara only lifted her head to press wet kisses against his neck.

"Everything ok in there?" Vash called, timidly. "I heard shouting."

"We're fine, Vash," Nobara called, making Knives whip his gaze to hers, but she only smirked, mischievously. "Just a small disagreement. Nothing to worry about."

"You _sure_-?"

"We're fine! Go away!" Knives growled at the door, making Nobara giggle as she twirled a piece of his hair between her fingers, soothingly. He groaned at the feeling and turned to plant his lips to hers again.

"Ok," Vash called. "I'm going!"

_Thank __God__, finally!_ Knives thought in relief as he heard his brother's footsteps heading back down the hall.

"Knives," Nobara muttered against his mouth, making him pull away to frown at her. "My…My real name is Rose Destler. I was named Nobara because of my reputation. It means 'Wild Rose' but…" She trailed off to slide a hand from the back of his head to press her finger tips to his lower lip and bit her own as she glanced at his mouth before turning her gaze back to his. "But I prefer the ones close to me to call me Rose."

"Alright," he nodded and leaned toward her again to murmur into her ear, "Rose it is, then."

Nobara's eyes fluttered shut in bliss before she found his mouth and urged him to kiss her back, which he gladly gave in to. His hands slid to her waist, finding the hem of her pajama top and slipping his hands underneath it, touching his fingertips to her skin. She shivered as his fingers climbed higher-

They both froze when a gunshot rang out and their gazes shot to the door. Knives quickly stood and gripped her hands to bring him with her before rushing to the door, Nobara on his heels. The couple headed into the living room to no one there, but through the front door they could see Vash, Meryl and Milly standing on the porch and headed out as well to find someone else standing outside, facing the house.

A man in grey trench coat and wide-brimmed grey hat stood in front of the house. He had his gun pointed toward the group, smoke floating from the barrel, his head down so the group couldn't see his face. White gloves covered his hands and he wore a black shirt, black pants and mid-shin high black boots with silver spurs.

"I'm here for the price on your head!" the man shouted in a deep voice. "And like I said before, I'm not leaving until you either come quietly, or die trying to escape!"

"No," Nobara breathed, making Knives glance at her, but he said nothing. "It's him. The man that's been following me. The _real_ man responsible for the plant explosion in Inepril."

"Well?" the man shouted again. "What's it gonna be…Mr. Vash the Stampede?"

Nobara couldn't help but frown at that. He was here for _Vash_? He obviously hadn't noticed that _she_ was there yet, and part of her was grateful for that, but the other part wished he wasn't there at all. Glancing around she stepped back toward the front door again, only to have her arm caught by Knives and their eyes met as he glared at her.

"What the hell are you doing?" he hissed, and she heard Vash sighing in exasperation before trying to convince the mystery man to leave him alone.

"Stall him," she requested, yanking her arm from his grip and bolting into the house.

Knives was about to go after her but stopped, watching her for a moment before turning back to the scene outside. Nobara darted into her room and pulled her gun belt from the chair to strap it on, tying the straps for the knife sheaths to her legs as quickly as she could. She jumped and looked to the door when she heard gunfire but quickly turned back to her task. Finishing with her belt she grabbed her guitar and amplifier to run back down the hall. Meryl and Milly were crowded around the window next to the door when she emerged, slinging her guitar over her shoulder.

"Where are Vash and Knives?" she demanded, making the girls jump and turn to stare wide eyes at her as she approached the front door in a march.

"They're outside," Milly reported in a frightened voice, pointing to the window, and both girls winced when more gunfire sounded outside. "Mr. Vash told us to get inside and stay here."

"Well, I wasn't here for that order," Nobara smirked as she stopped in front of the door to set her amp down and pull her pistol from her holster and check it to make sure it was loaded. Once she was satisfied, she holstered her pistol and picked up her amp to head out the door again. "I reckon since _I_ didn't hear it, doesn't apply to me."

"Wait," Meryl called, gripping Nobara's arm and making her look at her with a burning angry gaze. "Vash said it was too dangerous. And besides, two against one is good enough! They don't need another body out there!"

"Trust me, Meryl," she replied calmly, taking hold of the other woman's wrist and pulling her hand from her arm. "Thy need all the help they can get with this one."

_Does she…know him?_ Meryl thought, and it sounded loud and clear in Nobara's mind as well.

"Yes, I know him," Nobara answered aloud with a nod, ignoring the slightly shorter girl's small gasp. "He's not the kind of person you wanna fight alone."

Gunfire continued sounding outside as she stepped out of the door and onto the porch, stopping at the steps. She watched through the dust as three figures ran through it, shooting off their guns and yelling as each other to surrender. She noticed they were all using the other buildings for cover, but once in a while they were all three caught in the dust and shooting.

"Vash! Cover me!" she heard Knives shout from one of their covers.

"This is _my_ fight!" Vash retorted. "_You_ cover _me_!"

"You idiot! Just shut up and cover me!"

_God, these guys can't even fight __with__ each other, can they?_ she couldn't help but think as she set her amp down and pulled her guitar in front of her.

"You boys ready to surrender, yet?" she heard the Mystery Man yell as she cocked and lifted her guitar rifle to aim it at the lone figure in the dust. "I can do this all day!"

"Hey Mack!" she shouted and when the figure froze to look toward her, she gave a devious smirk. "Remember _me_, you lying, cheating, dirty, son of a-?"

"Hey!" Vash shouted, effectively interrupting her insult, but not drawing her gaze away from him as the dust started to settle. "What are you doing? This is too dangerous!"

Once the dust settled, they could all see the gun-slinging villain clearly. He was tall, the same height as Vash and Knives, and had curls of sand blonde hair wisping out from under his hat. He stared at Nobara with wide, milk chocolate brown eyes, filled with shock.

"You!" he shouted, swinging his gun to aim it at her then smiled, "So, _this_ is where you disappeared to, huh? This is _perfect_! Now I can bring you _both_ in and be an extremely rich man!"

"In you dreams, Mack!" Nobara retorted. "Remember, you gotta take _me_ in alive!" She placed a foot on top of her amplifier, pressing the button to reveal the missiles as she did and still held her guitar aimed at him. "Face it, Mack! You're out-numbered! Why not just give up?"

"Don't shoot him!" Milly suddenly shouted from the window, making Nobara frown and the man in grey smile, triumphantly. "It's Trevor!"

"It's _Mack_, actually," he called. "I'm sorry, Milly, but I need that money. You're a nice girl. How about after I collect on these two bounties, you come with me? We'll buy a big mansion and an endless amount of pancake batter for you?"

_He's more of an asshole than I thought_, Nobara thought to herself. _Using that poor girl to get to Vash. Guess Knives and Meryl were right, only Trevor didn't even exist. It was Mack the whole time._

She looked to Milly's face in the window and noticed the girl's eyes had tears in them before she yelled, "I'll make my pancakes _without_ you!"

"Well," Nobara smiled, turning back to Mack, triumphantly. "You've gotten your answer to _that_ question. Now, leave now, or never again draw your piece. In other words, if you _don't_ leave, you'll be too dead to fire that pretty little twenty calli of yours!"

Mack stared at her for a moment in shock that his charms hadn't gotten the better of Milly then slightly lowered his pistol. Nobara dropped her rifle a bit, but Mack shot his arm back up, trying to take advantage of her dropped guard. She was about to lift her rifle again when she noticed Knives suddenly behind the man and hitting him upside the head with the butt of his own gun. Mack's head jerked back and he fell to the ground, unconscious as Knives smiled at her, deviously and she lowered her rifle.

"Nice one," she smirked, lowering her foot from her amp and leaning over to press the button to close it as she called, "Bring him inside and tie him up."

Nobara winked at Knives before picking up her amplifier and heading back into the house. Knives smirked at the place she'd disappeared from before picking Mack up by the collar of his coat and dragging him toward the house.

"Come along, little brother," Knives called to Vash, and he hurried up next to him.

"What was the wink for?" he asked his twin and Knives only threw a glare at him, but it made him realize something else. "And what was with that _smirk_ you gave _her_?"

"Shut up, Vash," Knives snapped, heading up the stairs.

"What happened in that room, I wonder," Vash smirked, trotting up the stairs after his brother.

"Well you can _keep_ wondering, because you'll never hear it from _me_," Knives retorted as they entered the living room and caught sight of Nobara setting her things down to call, "Where do you want him?"

Nobara hurried toward the nearest chair at the table and replied, "Sit him here, and if he wakes up, cover him."

"Where are _you_ going?" Meryl wondered and Nobara turned to her with a mischievous grin.

"Well, first I gotta change," she explained. "Can't do an interrogation in my pajamas now, can I? Then I gotta get some rope to tie this dirt bag to his seat." She pointed at Knives. "Don't hurt him. Don't touch him. Don't even _breathe_ around him. Have Vash cover him."

"Ha, ha," Vash chanted, drawing a glare from Knives before he looked back at her with a slight frown of confusion, but she only turned and headed down the hall toward the back door, hearing footsteps behind her.

_What the hell did she mean by __that__?_ Knives thought to himself.

"Trust me, Knives, I'm protecting you," she replied, stepping out of the door and into the back.

"You think I need protecting?" Knives shot back, following her out the door. "I'm pretty sure I can do more damage to _him_ than he can do to me. I _am_ far superior to you humans, after all."

Nobara stopped and whirled on him to march directly in front of him and glared at him as she ground out, "You made one request of me, now _I'm_ gonna make one of _you_: Stop talking about your superiority over the human race. It's a _big_ turn off."

Knives only stood in his spot as she turned and headed toward the clothes line to yank down her black, short sleeved shirt. She began unbuttoning her pajama shirt, her back facing Knives, but he only stared at her as she stripped it off and pulled her black shirt on.

_Let's see how superior he __truly__ is_, she thought, her jaw set in angry determination as she yanked down her black pants, not caring if he watched her or not. _No male, human or not, can resist the temptation of lust. Let him look and eat his words later._

She slid her shorts off and caught a slight hitch in Knives's breathing, making her smirk in triumph. She pulled on her pants and moved to the far post to grab her black, leather, knee high boots to pull them on before grabbing her black leather coat from the line and slinging it over her shoulder.

"Untie that end from the post while I get this end," she said, heading toward the post closest to her.

"Why do you _insist_ on ordering me around?" he ground out, but she ignored him as she started untying the line from the post. "And why didn't you stay in the house with the other two like Vash told them."

"He told them, not _me_," Nobara retorted, not looking at him. "You needed all the help you could get with him. If I hadn't gone out there, you two would still be wasting bullets. He's not a man to be reckoned with."

"Yet you didn't just shoot him when you had the chance?" Knives shot back, stepping toward the post, finally. "You let your guard down instead! He would've shot _you_ if I hadn't knocked him out!"

"Gosh, Knives, I didn't know you cared _that_ much about me," she smirked, deviously, making him glare at her as he ripped the line from the post.

"I _don't_!" he snapped, lying through his teeth of course, and he _knew_ she knew that.

Nobara smirked and yanked the line from his hand to coil it around her arm, hand to elbow, then she grabbed it in the middle to pull it off, heading toward the door with a shrug.

"Fine," she chirped, stepping in front of him and lifting a hand to stroke a finger under his chin and murmur, "You just keep telling yourself that." She strolled toward the door, adding, "You might wanna put a shirt on. Can't have your gorgeous body distracting me when I'm interrogating the prisoner, can we?"

Knives couldn't help the smirk that slid over his lips at that as he followed her into the house, nor could Nobara resist the smirk that came to _her_ lips after she'd said it.

This was going to be interesting.

* * *

**A/N:** i was gonna be all cute and mushy with Knives and Nobara, but i decided it wouldn't fit either one of them. _Especially_ not Knives. lol! reviews?


	6. Interrogation

**A/N:** how evil of me! i had this done and didn't post it! new chappie! enjoy!

* * *

_**Chapter 6: Interrogation**_

"Here's the rope, Vash," Nobara called, heading out of the hall and into the room. She tossed it to Vash who caught it with wide eyes filled with wonder as Knives marched out of the hall behind her. "Tie him up, would ya? And Make sure it's good and tight. We wouldn't want him escaping, would we?"

"How come _I_ gotta tie him up?" Vash whined as he sat on the table. Nobara sighed, rolling her eyes then looked to Milly and smirked when she caught the other girl's eye.

"Let _Milly_ do it, then," she smirked, jabbing a thumb at her and Milly straightened in her chair as Meryl smiled slyly, sitting next to her. "I'm sure _she'll_ tie him up good and tight."

"Sure thing I will!" Milly grinned, standing and saluting as Nobara turned back to the hall with a wink to the tall girl.

Milly snatched the rope from Vash and got to work as Nobara continued down the hall, Knives heading after her. She stepped into her room and sighed as she leaned on the chair at the desk in front of the window, Knives stepping in and silently shutting the door behind him. She knew he was there, but ignored him for a moment to search the pockets of her gun belt. Slipping her fingers into the pocket with her guitar pick throwing blades she touched what she was looking for and smiled in relief.

Nobara sensed Knives padding silently toward her as she slowly pulled out the necklace she'd curled her fingers around, a black leather cord with a ceramic flower attached. She moved to tie it around her neck, but felt a pair of hands on hers, making her frown and look over her shoulder to see Knives taking the ends of the cord to tie it for her. She smiled at his stoic expression before lowering her hands and turning to look ahead again, searching her coat pockets.

"Didn't think you could be such a gentleman, Knives," she smirked, teasing him as she pulled out what she was looking for, a long piece of white lace which she twiddled in her fingers as she waited for him to finish with her necklace.

"I have my own motives," he muttered, making her smirk widen before she closed her eyes when she felt his hands rest on her shoulders and his thumbs ran up her neck to stroke the skin behind her ears. She moaned and closed her eyes, letting her head lull back into his hands as he leaned his face next to her ear. "This being one of them."

"What?" she smirked, her eyes still closed as she nuzzled her cheek against one of his hands. "Turning me on so that I give in and let you have me?"

"Possibly," he murmured huskily, pulling her toward him as he stepped closer and closed the gap between their bodies as he pressed his lips against her neck. "Is it working?"

"Maybe," she smirked, lifting her hands to his and moving them away as she turned to face him with a small smile, stretching out her piece of lace and setting it on her head. "But we have a prisoner out there that'll be awake in a while."

"What are you gonna do to him?" Knives wondered, a devious smirk slipping over his mouth as she knotted the tie at the nape of her neck.

"I'm gonna talk to him when he wakes up," she smirked back, knowing he was thinking of doing worse then just _talking_ to the guy. "Find out why he framed me, and why he's been following me. Maybe even save your brother in the process."

Knives lifted a brow in amusement at her explanation before his eyes caught the pendant around her neck. He raised a hand to it and lifted it in his fingers to examine it as she only stared at his face, unable to pull her gaze away.

"Where did you get this?" he wondered in sincere interest.

Nobara smiled nostalgically as she took the pendant in her hand, holding his hand, and that was when he noticed her black, fingerless gloves. He didn't remember her putting them on outside. Then again, he wasn't exactly looking at her _arms_ when she had been changing out in broad daylight.

"A long time ago," she began, jolting him from his trance so his gaze went to hers, "I ran away from home. This little girl found me passed out in the sand and got her parents to take me home with them. They nursed me back to health, and the girl and I became friends, almost like sisters. She gave this to me the day I left to find your brother."

She gave a sniffle and looked away from him, but still held the pendant in her hand which still rested against his fingers. Knives only stared at her for a moment as she took in a shaky breath then shook her sadness away and smiled up at him.

"Sorry," she sniffled. "I get a little choked up when I think of her. I miss her a lot."

Knives nodded, lowering his hand and wondering, "What was her name?"

"Sakura," Nobara replied, letting go of the pendant and stepping close to him to rest her head and her hands on his chest. "She was ten when I left."

"Let me go you idiot!" Mack yelled from down the hall making them both look to the door.

"Well," she sighed, then smirked, "I have an interrogation to perform. Care to watch?"

"God, yes," Knives growled, in what she could only describe as arousal, making her smirk as she started toward the door but turned to stop him when he followed and he frowned, "What?"

"For the second time, babe, put on a shirt."

* * *

_Meanwhile..._

"Untie me this instant, so I can kill you and claim the bounty on your head!" Mack yelled at Vash, who was still in his place on the table giving him a blank look then grinned.

"Now that's no incentive for me to untie you," Vash grinned, waving Mack's gun, the barrel pointed to the ceiling.

"It sure isn't," Nobara called, walking down the hall toward her guitar and amplifier, Knives following as he buttoned up his shirt.

All eyes shot to her as she picked up her things and walked back toward the table, sitting in a chair in front of him and setting the amp in front of Mack then pushing the button to reveal the missiles. Vash nearly jumped out of his skin.

_What the hell is she doing?_

_It's only a scare tactic_, Nobara's voice rang in his head and he shot his gaze to her. _I'm not gonna hurt him._

She smiled to Vash who seemed to relax slightly before she nodded to Mack to direct his attention at him again. The villain's eyes were wide with terror as he only stared at the missiles revealed to him, and Vash's attention was taken back to Nobara as she lifted her guitar onto her knee and flipped a switch on the side of the amplifier, making him frown in wonder at her again.

_Safety switch_, she explained, making him nod in understanding as she looked to Milly and Meryl. _You girls might wanna wait in the other room. This guy can get pretty offensive, and he'll take advantage of Milly's presence._

The girls nodded and Meryl stepped toward the hall as Milly only stared at Mack for a moment. The shorter woman glanced between the two and took Milly's hand to gently urge her toward the hall as well. Milly followed, still staring at Mack as Meryl dragged her past Knives at the end of the hall, leaning back on the wall, arms crossed over his chest.

Nobara sat her guitar across her lap, slinging the strap around her neck before removing her gloves, finger by finger, then setting them on the table as slowly as possible, making sure they were spread out perfectly, without a wrinkle, all the time staring at Mack with cold, hard, emerald eyes.

"So," Knives suddenly called from his place. "What are we gonna do with him?"

Nobara lifted her gaze to Knives and smiled, deviously before adjusting her guitar and replying, simply, "I'm gonna sing him a song."

Vash chuckled as Knives gave her a crooked frown, thinking, _She's gonna __what__?_

She looked to him and winked, silently telling him to play along and he only shrugged his cooperation.

"What song?" Vash smiled, setting Mack's gun on the table, one leg stretched out to set his foot on the chair next to him, the other swinging over the table's edge, the toe of his boot brushing the floor.

Nobara smiled and looked to Mack in thought as he still stared at the missiles pointed at him before she shrugged, "I dunno. Something I heard a _long_ time ago, maybe?"

She glanced up at Knives as he pushed off the wall and stepped up behind Mack, placing his hands on the man's shoulders, making him jump slightly. Knives leaned next to his ear and murmured, "This may be the _last_ performance you hear. I suggest you enjoy it, filthy human."

Mack swallowed audibly as Knives stood tall, patting his shoulder and winking to Nobara with a smirk as she cocked a brow of amusement at him. All eyes soon turned to Nobara as she began strumming the strings of her guitar.

_Give me strength to face the truth  
__The doubt within my soul  
__No longer I can justify the bloodshed in his name  
__Is it a sin to seek the truth  
__The truth beneath the rose?  
__Pray with me so I will find the gate to Heaven's door  
__I believed it would justify the means  
__It had a hold over me_

"Why are you doing this?" Mack interrupted, drawing the men's attention to him as Nobara's fingers stilled the strings of her guitar, but she didn't look at him. "Why don't you just _kill_ me already?"

Nobara still didn't look at him, her straight, black bangs hanging in front of her emerald eyes. Her gaze slowly lifted toward him, and he only gave an evil smirk as her face darkened.

"It's _rude_ to interrupt a performance," she said in a menacing tone.

"Oh, forgive me," Mack retorted. "I was thrown off by the fact that I'm strapped to a chair _against my will_, I might add."

"With good reason," Knives shot back. "You _shot at us_."

"I was _shooting_ at a $$60,000,000,000 skull," Mack corrected then shrugged, "But I'd be _glad_ to settle for 50 million, if you'd come quietly, that is, Nobara?"

She stood up, not responding as she set her guitar against the table then picked up Mack's gun and examined it before cocking it and aiming it at him.

"No," she replied, sitting on her amplifier. "And to answer your earlier question: No, I'm _not_ going to kill you. Why would I do that? I'm not a killer, no matter how much you try to make people _think_ I am, I'm not. But…I _am_ going to ask you some questions, and if you answer them _nicely_, and don't resist us, you'll get outta this in one piece."

Mack smirked in amusement and began an evil laugh, throwing his head back to belt it out and Vash felt a chill run up his spine at the sound of the maniacal laughter.

"You think I'm afraid of _you_?" Mack smirked, evilly.

"No," Nobara sighed dramatically, lowering the gun to rest her wrist on her knee, the gun hanging from her hand. "I know you're not afraid of _me_, but I _think_ you'd better be _very_ afraid of the man standing behind you." She gestured with the gun toward Knives. "You know why?"

Mack shook his head, his smirk dropping.

"Because the guy you _tried_ to take in for that 60 billion bounty on his head is _his_ brother," she explained. "Plus, he kinda enjoys my company, and he has _no_ qualms about causing you a little pain."

Mack looked up at Knives with wide eyes, and the other man smirked evilly back at him before flicking the gray hat off his head, then stepped away to stand next to Nobara as she began rolling her wrist, which swung the gun in her hand around in the air. The man tied to the chair stared at Knives and swallowed, loudly, terror filling his gaze.

"Now," Knives drawled, crossing his arms over his chest as he continued, "are you ready to answer the lady's questions?"

Mack nodded violently, not taking his terrified gaze away from Knives who smirked evilly at him.

_He enjoys this __way__ too much_, Nobara noticed but nodded.

"Good," she chirped, sitting back and looking at his gun. "Guess I won't be needing _this_, eh?"

She un-cocked the gun and tossed it into Vash's hands as he caught it in surprise.

"Uh, am I missing something here?" Vash asked with a crooked frown, setting the gun on the table again.

"Maybe some sense," Knives shot back, swiftly. "Other than that, I think you're…_almost_ just fine."

"That was _mean_, Knives," Nobara scolded, looking up at him.

"_Hello_! I'm still tied to a _chair_ over here!" Mack shouted, stomping his feet. All eyes shot to him and Nobara rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," she waved him off before saying, "Alright, first question…" She leaned closer to him and spoke in a low voice. "Why have you been following me?"

"Oh, like you don't know," Mack scoffed, rather childishly.

"It'd be best for you if you _answer_ her question," Knives ground out, glaring at Mack who glanced at him and swallowed, loudly.

"W-Well," he sputtered, his gaze darting between the couple in front of him. "I've been following you for that $$50,000,000 reward hangin' over your head like a black cloud of death."

"Very poetic," Vash admitted, blinking in surprise.

"A bounty that _you_ put over my head!" Nobara snapped, standing up and leaning closer to Mack, her hands on the arms of the chair. "Which brings me to my _next_ question: Why did you frame me?"

"You've got it all wrong," Mack smiled, evilly again. "I'm only the middle-man. I got $$50,000 just to _frame_ you. Then if I can get you in to the feds, I can keep the reward."

"Who's your employer?" Nobara demanded.

"Like I'm gonna tell you _that_," Mack scoffed again.

"You'll _answer_ her question," Knives backed her up, not moving from his stance and seeing Mack's eyes turn to him. "And you'll answer her _honestly_."

"Listen here, Mack," Nobara spoke up, drawing his attention back to her. "I've been running from city to city trying to escape one bounty hunter after another just to get a bit of peace on this planet. The reason being that with that bounty on my head, everyone's looking to collect. So _you_ are going to tell me the name of your employer or I swear by my 35 calli I will keep you strapped to this chair and let Knives do whatever the hell he wants with you for the rest of your pathetic life. Is that clear?"

"Krystal," Mack blurted, his eyes widening as he swallowed.

"Good," Nobara nodded, standing tall to sit on her amplifier again. "Now give me the name."

"I just _did_," he snapped. "Krystal Robyn. Apparently she's got some grudge against you. She wants you either dead or on the run."

"Krystal Robyn," Nobara breathed, sitting back.

"Who is she?" Vash and Knives asked in unison then glared at each other for it.

"Not now," Nobara replied, not looking away from Mack. "I'll tell you later."

"Well?" Mack called, irritably. "You get what you wanted? I answered you questions. You gonna untie me now?"

"Why should we?" Knives shrugged as Nobara still stared not just at, but _through_ Mack in deep thought.

"Because I cooperated!" Mack shot back. "Now get me outta here!"

"How do we know you'll leave us for sure after we do?" Vash chimed in, leaning on a knee. "You could go get back-up!"

"Wouldn't matter," Nobara breathed, shooting all eyes to her, Mack giving an evil grin. "She already knows we've captured him. She'll be here in a few days with her best man. Which means we have that much time to prepare…"

Knives and Vash looked at her in confusion as she trailed off, but it was Vash who asked, "Prepare for what?"

"Fight or flight," Nobara replied, flatly as she stood, glaring at Mack as he smiled evilly at her. "I plan to fight." She looked to Vash and said, "Which means we gotta get this town evacuated."

_A firefight?_ he thought to himself as he stared at her with wide eyes filled with disbelief. _I thought I was __done__ with this! Why does this crap follow me wherever I go?_

He watched Nobara close her amplifier and Mack gave a slight sigh of relief before he caught Knives still glaring at him.

"W-What about _me_?" he sputtered, tearing his gaze away from Knives long enough to stare up at Nobara, making her look back at him. "You gonna let me go?"

"Hell no," she chuckled with a slight smirk. "We can't trust ya, Mack. So you're gonna stay strapped to that chair till we figure out what to do with you."

She walked toward the hall, Mack glaring at her until he turned back to be face to face with an evilly grinning Knives. Mack shrunk back and swallowed, his eyes wide in horror.

"Girls, you can come out now, if you want," she called through one of the doors and stepped back into the room, the girls following behind a moment later.

_Please, don't make the girls fight_, Vash pleaded silently. _Not that __that__ will stop them from trying to help._

"Alright, everyone," Nobara called, standing at the head of the table as Meryl stepped toward Vash to let him slip an arm around her shoulders as he stayed on his perch on the table. Knives and Milly leaned side by side on the couch, but Knives visibly kept his distance as Mack only sat in his chair, sulking. "Not to sound like my Sergeant, but we have to prepare for battle. We'll need some supplies, ammunition, food, water-"

"Looks like _you_ call the shots for this bunch, huh?" Mack interrupted, making Nobara grip the back of the chair in front of her before turning a glare to him.

"_Nobody_ tells _anybody_ what to do," she ground out.

"Sounds to me like _you're_ telling _everybody_ in this room what to do," he retorted and Nobara narrowed her eyes at him, setting her jaw and looking to the group in front of her.

"Fine," nodded, shortly as she straightened and asked, "Who wants to stay, and who wants to leave?"

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**A/N:** um...crap. lol! reviews?


	7. Sins

**A/N:** new chappie! enjoy!

* * *

_**Chapter 7: Sins**_

"Well?" Nobara prompted. "Who wants to stay and who wants to take off? I wouldn't blame you if wanna take off. It's gonna be pretty dangerous and maybe you girls shouldn't get into this."

"Why are you singling _us_ out?" Meryl asked, irritably. "We can fight just as well as the rest of you."

"This won't be an _ordinary_ firefight, Meryl," Nobara replied. "Krystal Robyn is _ruthless_. More ruthless then this bum strapped to the chair-"

"Hey!" Mack snapped but Nobara ignored him, still staring at Meryl.

"She wants me dead," she continued, "and if it's for the reason I think it is, then she won't stop until she gets what she wants. She'll send scouts to tire me out before the big battle. Like I said, she'll come in with her best man, thinking I'll be alone. Which I may well be."

"How can you possibly know that?" Mack shot back and Nobara gave him a devious smirk.

"We were in military school together," she replied, and everyone's eyes shot wide at her as she turned to them again.

"Why does she want you dead?" Vash asked, standing from the table but keeping his arm around Meryl's shoulders. "What did you do?"

Nobara glanced to Knives in worry, making him frown in wonder but she only looked to Vash again and swallowed hard.

"I killed her husband," she replied flatly and everyone shot wide-eyed gazes at her in disbelief…except Knives.

He only stared at her, the depths of his sapphire blues expressionless and she swallowed when she glanced at him. After getting on her soap box about humans not being so bad, she knew what she was about to come out with was going to make her look like the biggest hypocrite in his eyes.

"After military school, we were both contracted as assassins," she began, looking to Vash and Meryl. "Wee took missions separately though. We were never a team. He was…a target of mine. I had no idea he was her husband, otherwise I wouldn't have even _taken_ the mission."

"So she found out and she's been out for blood ever since," Knives guessed, coldly, making her look to him and nod, slowly.

"Yes," she nearly whispered. "I tried to explain to her that I had no idea, but she wouldn't have it. Once she gets something in her head she won't hear anything else. As far as _she_ was concerned, I killed her husband knowingly."

"Seems like you've been claiming innocence since day one," Mack smirked deviously.

Nobara shot her gaze to him in rage and turned to him to lean on the arms of his chair, staring at him as she ground out, "_You_. That mouth of yours is gonna get you in trouble, Mack."

She stood tall and reached into the pocket of her coat to pull out a long piece of cloth and tossed it to Knives who caught it mid-air without moving.

"Gag this fool," she snapped, still glaring at Mack before marching around him and down the hall to head into her room and shut the door.

Knives looked to Mack who stared back at him in terror, making the other man raise a brow at him.

"What is it you're afraid of?" he wondered, slowly stepping toward the man who still stared at him. "Unless she gives me the go-ahead, I'm not going to hurt you."

He stepped behind Mack and pulled the gag tight over his mouth as he began to squirm in his chair and Meryl looked to Vash.

"What are you gonna do?" she asked and he gave a tired sigh as he lifted a hand to rub the back of his neck in thought.

"I don't know," he sighed. "What _can_ I do? I mean, she and I are somewhat in the same boat, right? Both framed for things we didn't do. Both running for our lives from bounty hunters and police."

"Maybe we shouldn't talk too much in front of the prisoner?" Knives advised. Mack tried to say something, but the gag around his mouth only muffled his angry shouts and Knives smacked the back of his head, blurting, "Shut up."

"What about you, Milly?" Meryl asked, turning to the other woman as she remained leaning back on the couch.

"I don't want to be in the middle of a fight," she admitted. "But I can't let our new friend, Miss Nobara go in alone, can I?"

"I knew you'd say that," Meryl smirked then turned to Vash again, nodding, "If Milly's in, _I'm_ in."

"Well, we can't leave it to a bunch of _girls_," Vash smirked and balled his fist to pump it to his side. "I'm in, too! Can't let my biggest fan get killed! How about it Knives?"

He looked to the spot where his brother…_had_ been standing and frowned.

"Knives?" he called, but realized he'd gone down the hall when he heard a door shut and he swallowed in worry.

"Maybe he went to ask Miss Nobara what to do with Trev-Mack?" Milly guessed as Meryl bit the corner of her lip in worry as well.

_Let's hope_, she thought.

* * *

_Meanwhile..._

Knives shut the door behind him, glaring at Nobara's back as she sat in the chair at the desk in front of the window, staring out at the desert.

"You shouldn't come in with so much _anger_, Knives," she advised, not moving and he gritted his teeth. "It's unsettling for someone like me. I might think I'm under attack."

"And what will you do, _assassin_?" he retorted, his hands balling into fists as neither of them moved from their spots. "_Kill_ me, like you have others?"

"It was a job," she replied, emotionlessly. "Nothing more. I did what I had to do. And _you_ of all people shouldn't judge _me_ about killing. I thought you'd be commending me."

"Not when you sat there and yelled at me about what I've done!" Knives snarled, marching toward her and gripping her arm to pull her to her feet and turn her to face him. "You're just like all the other _humans_! Hypocrites and killers!"

"I knew you'd think that," she breathed before swallowing, and Knives gave a frown but didn't let her go or look away from her tired eyes. "I knew you'd say I was a hypocrite, but the truth is, I _hated_ being an assassin. I only did it for the money. I had no alternative. No one would take me in as an employee for a _year_. I couldn't even get a _waitressing_ job. That's the _easiest_, goddamn thing to get into, and they wouldn't take _me_! I had no other choice, and I hated it. _That's_ the difference between _me_ and the _other_ people you hate so much, Knives. I didn't enjoy one second of it. It tore me apart every single day, and I'm _glad_ I'm out and away from it now. So yell at me all you want about being a hypocrite, but it won't change the fact that I'm right about humans, and _you_ know it. Somewhere in that heart that I know you have, you _know_ it."

Knives only stared at her for a moment then let go of her arm with a slight shove as he saw tears starting to form in her eyes.

Yes, he knew. He knew she was right, but he wasn't about to admit that to _anyone_, not even her or Vash. He knew, at the same time, that _he_ was right. No one was all bad, but no one was all _good_, either. He could see it in her eyes, that _she_ knew _that_. Those eyes that had him staring at her, capturing him.

He suddenly realized how different she was from his brother. Even though they held the same belief that not everyone in this world was cruel and vicious, Nobara _knew_ the truth, and didn't live in some fantasy the same as Vash. Their eyes were different.

Both had bright eyes, but Vash's were far too innocent. He hated that about him. After all the years he'd lived, after all the things he'd seen, he was _still_ like a child. But _Nobara_, even though she hadn't lived as long as they had, was mentally and emotionally older than Vash would _ever_ be, he was sure.

"What do you want us to do with the prisoner?" he asked, breaking from his thoughts long enough to deal with what was important. Nobara stared at him, her intense emeralds meeting his equally intense sapphires before she looked around the room with a shrug.

"Put him in here," she replied before looking back at him. "Just keep him tied to the chair and leave him in here."

"Where will _you_ stay?" he wondered and she shrugged again.

"The couch," she blurted. "I don't care, as long I can sleep."

"How is your leg?"

Nobara frowned up at him in utter confusion before asking, "What?"

"Your gunshot," he reiterated. "How does it feel?"

"Oh," she recalled, looking down at her thigh before shrugging again and looking up at him, replying, "Fine, I guess. I haven't really thought about it. Whatever you guys did, it's working like a charm."

Knives nodded and they didn't say a word for another moment before he realized something he'd thought was puzzling but hadn't been able to ask her about yet.

"How did you find out Mack was the one that framed you?" he asked and Nobara gave a sigh of exhaustion as she sat down in the chair again, Knives stepping toward the desk to sit on the edge and face her as she spoke.

"When I showed up in Inepril two or three days after Vash left, somebody asked if I wanted to see the plant he'd fixed up," she began. "I wasn't about to let _that_ opportunity get away from me. There were two guys, Mack being one of them, that took me to the plant and gave me the grand tour before we arrived in the sector Vash had been in. I was looking around and next thing _I_ know, the door is shut and everything is going berserk around me. I tried to get out, but when I realized there was no way I could get out, and nothing I could do to stop whatever was happening, I ducked under something. There was a bright flash of light and I woke up in a pile of rubble.

"The people of the city blamed me for what had happened, but when they tried to catch me, I disappeared. Thus sprouted the name Nobara the Phantom."

Knives only stared at her silently as she gazed out the window before he stood and asked, "Do want him in here now?"

"Give me a while alone, will ya?" she requested, not looking at him. "I'll be out there in a few moments."

"Fine," he nodded, and turned to the door but was stopped by a hand on his wrist.

He frowned and looked to her as she slowly stood, her bangs covering her eyes. She threw her arms around his chest, slamming against it and making him grunt as he stumbled back a bit. Knives hesitantly brought his arms up and placed them around her shoulders only for a moment before she pulled back and sat down in the chair again, leaving a very puzzled Knives standing next to her.

"Sorry," she muttered.

"It's…fine," he replied before turning and heading toward the door, this time making it and stepping into the hall to close the door behind him and lean against it, his hands shaking.

_What is this she does to me?_ he wondered. _I've never felt anything like this before. She makes me…nervous._

Some shuffling on the other side of the door made him frown and turn to press his ear to it. The distinct sound of crying made his heart clench, but why he had no clue. His hands balled into fists against the door and he felt like marching into the living to use them on Mack.

_Why do I…want to fight…for __her__?_

Standing tall and taking a deep breath he held his hands to his sides and headed down the hall to be greeted by a grinning, tall brunette.

"Mr. Knives, could you help me with something?" she wondered, brightly, making Knives frown in absolute confusion.

* * *

_A few moments later..._

"Now that Miss Nobara has gotten her answers from you, I would like you to do me the same courtesy and answer _my_ questions," Milly told Mack as she stood in front of him, her arms crossed over her chest with Knives standing next to her and she turned to him, "If you please, Mr. Knives, could you take the gag off of him?"

"I really don't think that's a good idea," he replied. "Nobara might hear him scream when I hurt him."

"You're not going to hurt him, Mr. Knives," Milly smiled. "I need him to answer my questions."

"Fine," he sighed, stepping toward Mack who stared at him with wide, terror-filled eyes, making the other man smirk. "Don't worry. If I _do_ hurt you, be comforted to know that the end of your pain will be in sight when I _kill_ you."

"Now, now, Mr. Knives," Milly scolded, gently as Mack's eyes widened at him before turning back to Milly who only grinned, brightly at him as the gag fell from his mouth.

"Why don't you help me out, Milly?" he hoped. "Turn in Vash and Nobara with me and we'll split the money."

"I would _never_ turn in one of my friends," Milly replied. "Especially if they're innocent."

"Fine," Mack groaned, slouching in the chair he was still tied to. "But you're passing up a fortune."

"Shut up, before I choke you to death with this gag," Knives growled, holding the cloth up in his fist an inch front Mack's face, and he looked to Knives with wide, terror-filled eyes.

"Are you going to answer my questions, or not?" Milly asked, drawing Mack's attention back to her and he nodded. "Good. Why did you lie to me about who you were?"

Mack bowed his head, tracing circles in the sand with the tip of his boot as he explained, "Because I couldn't risk you finding out that I was after Vash, and besides, you shouldn't give your real name if you're hunting someone."

"Why did you use me to get to Mr. Vash in the first place?" Milly continued. "There must have been other ways for you to do it."

Mack's foot stilled and he slowly lifted his head to smirk, evilly at her through curls of sand blonde hair hanging over his eyes as he answered, "For the money. Greed is my sin."

"Stop freakin' her out, Mack."

The three outside jumped with a start, Milly and Knives whirling around to see Nobara standing in the threshold of the back door, a scowl on her face.

"Miss Nobara," Milly breathed in panic. "I was just-"

"I know Milly," Nobara cut in. "You should have asked me." Milly frowned at Nobara as she stepped up next to Knives and said, "Gag him before he says something that gets him shot."

"How about I just cut off his tongue out?" Knives grinned, deviously.

"He'll still make too much noise," Nobara smirked back. "I thought of that myself. Just put the gag back on."

"Don't you even _think_-!" Mack started before his protest was muffled the gag being forcefully tied around his mouth by Knives.

"Wait!" Milly called and Nobara looked to him. "I still need to talk to him!"

"No, Milly, you don't," Nobara replied. "Trust me. Next time, tell me the questions you need the answers to and I'll ask him _for_ you." She turned to Knives just as he finished gagging Knives and said, "You can put him in my room now."

He lifted a brow at her and was about to make his token argue, but Nobara only shook her head slowly and his expression dropped before he nodded and began pulling a struggling Mack tied to his chair into the house. Nobara turned to Milly who was scowling at her, fists clenched at her sides.

"Well, if you're gonna yell at me, go ahead," Nobara prompted.

"Why did you do that?" Milly asked.

"Because I'm trying to protect you," Nobara replied. "If you talk to him alone he'll only lie and try to manipulate you. He's a sociopath. He was no remorse."

"But I _wasn't_ alone," Milly protested. "Mr. Knives was with me!"

"Knives knows _nothing_ about Mack," Nobara protested. "Anything he said to you that made you feel sorry for him was _meant_ to make you feel sorry for him. He was trying to manipulate you. Trust me Milly, I've read his mind. I know what he's _truly_ like. Krystal trained him _herself_. There's no telling how evil he is, but he _is_ definitely evil."

Milly's rage cooled as she bowed her head and Nobara sighed before placing a hand on her shoulder and continuing, gently, "Look, I'm sorry about this, but if you're going to talk to him, at least have me in the room with you guys, ok? I'll be able to tell if he's trying to mess with your head or if he's telling the truth. I know it feels like I'm taking charge of everything, but it's very important that you trust me and try to understand, ok?"

Milly nodded and Nobara gave another sigh before heading back toward the house.

"Miss Nobara?"

She stopped half-way to the door but didn't turn back.

"Yeah, Milly?"

Milly turned to her, but Nobara never looked back at her as she asked, "Did you hear him say that greed was his sin?"

"Yes."

"What did he mean by that?"

Nobara was silent for a moment before she replied, "You may not understand this, Milly. But I'll tell you anyway." She turned to face confused, blue eyes. "We all suffer from the seven deadly sins. Greed, envy, lust, wrath, gluttony, sloth and pride. But in every person there is always one sin that stands out the most. It's a belief I've lived by and have been right about in judging people. Mack's outstanding sin is greed."

"You can tell _everyone's_ sin?" Milly wondered in intrigue and Nobara only nodded. "What's yours?"

Nobara's green eyes darkened slightly and Milly gave a small frown but said nothing as the other woman turned and started into the house, but Milly heard the one word she muttered on her way inside.

"Wrath."

* * *

**A/N:** dun dun DUN! lol! reviews?


	8. Sibling

**A/N:** new chappie!

* * *

_**Chapter 8: Sibling**_

Knives dragged the still struggling Mack into Nobara's room and turned him to face the window.

"There," he huffed, patting Mack on the shoulder. "Now you have a nice view of the desert. Isn't that nice of me?"

Mack fidgeted again and tried to yell at Knives, but the gag did its job well.

"Oh knock it off," Knives snapped. "You're not getting out of those ropes even if you were a magician. And even if you _did_…" He trailed off and leaned toward Mack's face as he froze and stared wide, chocolate brown eyes filled with terror at the other man. "I'd _kill_ you, with_out_ Nobara's say-so. Keep that in mind the next time you try to squirm out of those ropes."

With that, he turned and walked toward the door, leaving Mack in the room, frozen and afraid to breathe. Knives closed the door behind him, just in time to meet Nobara in the hall. She was standing in front of the door, staring down at the ground. He couldn't help but wonder what was wrong with her.

"Rose," he whispered, trying to catch her attention and she looked up at him to smile, weakly.

"I'm fine, Knives," she lied, either hearing the subtle concern in his voice or reading his mind to see if he was. Which one he wasn't sure. "Did you want something?"

Suddenly realizing he _had_ wanted to talk to her about something he nodded before glancing toward the living room then looked to Vash's empty room. Feeling hurried he leaned over to grab Nobara's wrist and drag her into the room as she gave a small shout of surprise. He closed and locked the door behind them and turned to her again as she stood next to the bed.

"Well aren't _you_ in a hurry to get me alone?" she smirked, her hands on her hips.

Knives couldn't contain himself. Hearing her mouth off to him and the way she'd been giving simple yet forceful orders to everyone, 'do this' 'do that,' it made him want to attack her mouth without mercy. So he did it. Without a word he marched toward her and gripped her arms to shove her back onto the bed she was standing next to. She put up a struggle of confusion, but froze when he planted his lips to hers, shoving his tongue into her mouth, making her moan and slip her arms around his neck to pull him closer as his hands slid to her waist.

When they finally pulled away to breathe, Nobara kept her eyes closed for a moment, licking her lips before finally looking at a lethargic looking Knives and smiling.

"And what was that for?" she murmured, her fingers thumbing through his hair, soothingly.

"Your show of dominance is surprisingly arousing," he breathed, lowering his face to hers again, but his aim was off and his lips brushed her cheek as she gave a giggle.

"_Really_?" she drawled into his ear when she pulled his head next to hers to do so. "Does that mean I get to order you around some more?"

"Your sarcasm has the same, god damned affect," he growled, biting her earlobe and making her squeak in surprise. "Stop it."

"No," she cooed defiantly.

Growling again, Knives gripped her wrists from around his neck and held them on either side of her head as he hovered above her to stare his burning blue gaze into her shocked green one. He stared at her for a moment before closing in on her, stopping when their faces were a breath away from each other's. There was something in her gaze whenever she looked at him. Something he knew too well. Fear.

"Do I frighten you, Rose?" he murmured through a devious smirk.

Nobara swallowed, not taking her gaze from his intense stare. Her fingers twitched, knowing that she could easily throw him off of her but at the same time, not wanting to. Her breathing came shorter the longer they stared at each other until all she could do was nod. He _did_ frighten her. His hatred of humans frightened her. His undisputed calm, ease, and almost giddiness at the thought of killing someone frightened her. He was unpredictable. Their current position being the case in point. She hadn't expected his attack and she wasn't sure she would have even if she _had_ been reading his mind at that moment.

Knives' smirk widened as he brought their lips closer, his grip on her wrists tightening just a bit as he breathed, "Good."

Another hot, passionate kiss ensued then, and Nobara couldn't help but wonder why his kisses made her head swim. Other men had kissed her the way was now, but it was never anything special. Only when Millions Knives' lips crashed onto hers with bruising force did she feel dizzy while the rest of her body tingled, and though she feared him, she craved him at the same time.

The jiggling doorknob made him jerk away from her face and she gaze a slight pout when he did then giggled when he growled at the door.

"It's Vash," she whispered, lifting her head enough to brush her lips against his neck just below his ear where his jaw began. He growled again and yanked his head away to plant his lips to hers again, making her moan.

"Who locked the door?" Vash whined outside the door, knocking on it as he still jiggled the knob. "Who's in there?"

"Go away!" Knives snarled before turning back to Nobara in an attempt to ignore his annoying little brother.

"But that's _my_ room!" Vash called, ceasing his knocking. "What are you doing in there, anyway?"

"None of your business!" Knives shot back, but when he turned to resume their kiss she craned her neck to escape and he frowned at her in confusion.

"It's not fair, Knives," she scolded, gently. "We can take care of this another time, huh?"

"You're spending the night with me," he ordered, making her eyes snap wide as a light blush came to her cheeks.

"W-What?" she breathed.

"Don't make me repeat myself," he replied.

"Knives!" Vash called like a child being ignored. "Come _on_!"

"But…But you're on the couch, aren't you?" Nobara wondered, now ignoring Vash as well.

"Vash will soon be gracious enough to give us his room," Knives smirked, closing in on her again. "I wouldn't want you to be uncomfortable."

"Knives-"

"_Knives_!"

"Shut up!" Knives and Nobara snapped at the door at the same time, making them turn back to each other in slight shock.

"Jeez, whatever," Vash muttered on the other side of the door and the couple heard his footsteps heading back down the hall making them sigh in relief.

"He's probably worried you're doing something terrible to me," she guessed, wanting to lift her hands to thumb through his hair again, but his hands still pinned them on either side of her head.

"If I were, you would be screaming in agony," he smirked.

"I could start screaming at any moment, ya know?" she smirked back. "Want me to?"

"I'd like to see you try when my mouth is devouring yours," he shot back, closing in on her but he was stopped.

She smirked a little wider when he frowned in confusion. He couldn't get any closer to her and he suddenly realized why. Glaring at her he shoved off of her to stand fully and head toward the door as she only sat up and giggled. He nearly slammed the door behind him, pumping his fists in irritation. He wanted her, and her sarcasm and attitude just made it even worse. Shaking his head to rid his mind of her for a moment he headed down the hall and saw Vash sitting at the end of the table, Milly on his left and he guessed Meryl was in the kitchen…again.

"So, Nobara got herself shot in the leg, huh?"

Knives frowned at the sound of the unfamiliar male voice mentioning Nobara and when he stopped at the end of the hallway, he turned to the couch to see a man as tall as himself dressed in black, leaning back on the couch as he faced the table. His hair was extremely short and spiked, colored a chocolate brown and he shot his gaze to Knives with piercing golden eyes above a black mouth mask. Knives' gaze wandered to the man's chains hanging from various places on his pants…chains with some kind of hooks on the end of them.

"Hey, Knives-"

"Who the hell is _he_?" Knives cut Vash off, not looking away from the unidentified man that had _dared_ to speak of Nobara as if he _knew_ her.

"My name is irrelevant," the man shrugged, taking one of his chains into his hand and spinning it casually. "I'm better known as Kan the Samurai. Just 'Kan' will do."

"How do _you_ know Nobara?" Knives ground out, his hands balling into fists.

"Kan?"

Knives frowned and turned around to see Nobara behind him in time to see her shocked expression change to a bright smile before she ran toward the man and into his arms.

"Kan! You jack ass! What the hell took you so long?" she grinned as Kan chuckled and lifted her off the floor as he hugged tightly before setting her back down.

_What in the __hell__ is this?_ Knives thought to himself, rage bubbling within him as he watched them.

Nobara pulled away from Kan and turned a smirk to the obviously irritated Knives and asked, "Jealous much, Knives?"

He didn't respond as Nobara rolled her eyes and stepped next to Kan who was glancing between the two with a frown.

"Don't worry," she assured the fuming man in the hall. "Kan is my _brother_." She found Knives' shocked expression amusing but didn't dwell on it much before she looked to Kan and asked, "You stayin' for lunch?"

"You bet," he nodded with smiling eyes.

"Take that thing off your face," Nobara blurted, gesturing to his mask and he rolled his eyes.

"Military life's branded you, hasn't it?" he shot back as he pulled the mask from his face and shoved it into one of the pockets on his jeans.

Knives was grateful Kan was Nobara's brother. Revealing his face proved that had he _not_ been her brother, he certainly could be a potential rival. Aside from the fleshy scar running down his right cheek from cheek bone to jaw line, Kan the Samurai was a handsome son of a-

"Watch yourself, Knives," Nobara suddenly snapped, making him frown at her but he suddenly realized she'd been reading his mind and glared at her.

"Oh, I _hate_ it when she does that," Kan sympathized, but that only earned a glare from in _his_ direction.

_What's with __this__ guy?_ Kan wondered.

_He's just gettin' around to tolerating, if not __liking__ humans_, Nobara replied in his thoughts and he looked to her with a blank stare.

"Didn't I just tell you I _hate_ it when you do that?" he asked aloud, making everyone else frown at the three, but Knives simply headed toward the table, shoving between Kan and Nobara as he did.

"So, what's for lunch?" Vash asked Meryl, deciding there was a need for a change of subject.

_Thank you_, he heard Nobara's voice echo in his head and he gave a smile and a nod to her as Knives sat in across from him at the other head of the table.

"Hot dogs!" Meryl replied from the kitchen as she prepared them.

"Yum!" Nobara grinned, scanning the table and pulling Kan by the arm to walk him to an empty chair. "Why don't _you_ have a seat next to Milly?"

"Why don't _you_ say what you mean?" Kan smirked, sitting n the empty chair between Milly and Vash. "You want me to sit with _Vash_ don't you?"

_Just sit there, dumb ass._

_It's not nice to call your brother a dumb ass._

"But I'm sure this pretty young lady has interesting stories as well," he said, not hinting at the telepathic conversation he and his sister were having. He flashed a winning smile at Milly as he wondered, "Don't you?"

"Y-Y-Sure!" Milly squeaked, blushing madly.

_He's awfully cute!_ Milly thought to herself, and Nobara had caught it but said nothing.

_Good, at least that will keep her mind off of Mack_, she thought to herself.

"You gonna sit, Nobara?" Vash wondered.

She glanced around, noticing only one more chair empty next to Vash, and she knew that Meryl would want to sit there. Glancing to where Knives sat, obviously still fuming, she smirked and decided to have a little fun with him. She strolled toward Knives, turned and sat herself in his lap. They all looked to her in shock as Knives looked to everyone else at the table with only a slight touch of pink over his cheeks.

Nobara looked to them as well and shrugged, "What? There aren't enough chairs."

"There's a chair right _there_!" Kan shot back, gesturing to the chair across from him. "Next to _Vash_!"

"But _Meryl_ will wanna sit there," Nobara argued and turned her head to look over Knives' shoulder as her arms slipped around his neck and she called, "Right, Meryl?"

The other woman turned and almost dropped the frying pan of hot dogs at the sight she was greeted with. Never had she thought she would see a girl sitting on the lap of Millions Knives…_willingly_.

_Just say yes, Meryl_, Nobara instructed light-heartedly and all Meryl could do was nod before the grinning Nobara turned back to the table and cheered, "See?"

Kan stood and marched toward them to grab Nobara's hand and drag her from Knives' lap, down the hall and toward an empty room, Nobara laughing the whole way. He shoved her into the room before stepping in himself and slamming the door behind him.

"What the _hell_ was that?" he snapped.

"He and I are…" Nobara stopped herself and thought for a moment before replying, "Well, I guess you can't say we're a couple or anything. Even though we make out and flirt, but we don't really _act_ like a couple. In any case, I just wanted to mess with his head a little. Is that so bad?"

"Bad for _him_," Kan retorted, lifting both hands to punch one into the other and Nobara rolled her eyes.

"Oh, you _are_ funny, big brother," she replied, unimpressed. "But may I remind you, _you_ still have to go through _me_?"

"This is no time to play games, Rose," he reminded her. "In the midst of all your flirting and making out, have you thought of a plan?"

"No," she blurted, plopping onto the bed with a sigh. "I don't want anyone to get hurt, but I just want this to be done." She looked to the window and murmured, "Even with the talent we have in this house, Krystal's talented too. And depending on who she brings with her, this may turn into a blood bath."

"You forgetting you've got _me_ with you now?" Kan smirked in pride. "Anybody gets hurt, I can take care of it with my power-"

"I know! I know!" Nobara replied irritably, waving him off. "Damn! I always forget your sin is Pride."

"You still believe in all that sin, crap," Kan grumbled, sitting next to her.

"We have to tell the others about your powers," she suddenly changed the subject. "They already know about mine. They should know about yours."

"I think one of them already knows," Kan replied and she looked to him with a frown but he only smirked at the door.

His power of X-ray vision made it easy for him to see a petite figure leaning by the door…or to his vision a lack there of. All he saw with his X-ray vision was neon green outlines of objects on the other side of the door. Nobara smiled as she stood and strolled to the door and stood next to it, lightly gripping the knob.

_Who is it?_

_Meryl, it looks like. She's a curious one, isn't she?_

_Yes, she is._

Nobara turned and opened the door just in time to catch Meryl, trying to hear what was being said on the other side. She gasped and stood tall, a slight blush over her cheeks before she straightened and cleared her throat as Nobara only smiled.

"Lunch ready?" she continued to smile.

"Yeah," Meryl nodded. "And, uh, Knives was asking for you."

"Tell him he's dead," Kan blurted.

"Tell him I'm fine," Nobara corrected. "We'll be there in a minute."

Meryl nodded and Nobara smirked, knowing by the look in her eyes that she'd pretty much heard everything. She waited until the other woman headed back down the hall and turned a glare to her brother.

"Try to restrain that mouth of yours when you're around Knives, will ya?" she snapped. "He's already got issues with humans. You don't need to make it worse."

"What are you talkin' about?" Kan asked, leaning back on the bed and cradling his heads in his hands. "Isn't _he_ human?"

"No," she began, crossing her hands over her chest as she leaned back on the wall. "He's a plant. He and Vash are both plants in human form. You know that."

"So what?" he shrugged. "Vash likes humans plenty. What's _his_ problem?"

"He thinks they're inferior to the two of them. I managed to calm him down from our last…discussion about it, but he still feels that way. I'm afraid any comments of a violent nature will only make it worse."

"Maybe it won't. Ever think about that?"

"It will. He already came down on me about being an assassin after the speech I gave him, not to mention all this going on with Krystal. I'm afraid he'll…"

Kan frowned and looked to her with a raised brow when she trailed off to see her looking away from him and he smirked, finishing, "Afraid he'll turn on you _completely_?"

"Yeah," Nobara sighed, looking down at the floor to kick at some sand that had blown in from somewhere. "That would be a nightmare."

"You really like him, don't you?" he smirked, shooting Nobara's wide-eyed gaze at him as he only continued to smirk at her and she scoffed.

"Is it _that_ obvious?" she smirked back.

"It's _always_ obvious with you," he replied, sitting up and swinging his legs over the edge to stand and head toward her.

"Yes, I really do like him, if you _must_ know," she retorted as he approached and she thought for a moment as he stopped next to her and lean on the wall beside her. "It's weird. When I first met him, I couldn't understand why I was feeling _anything_ for him because he was such a jerk. Turns out, he felt something too 'cause whenever we're together it's like-"

"Please," Kan interrupted, lifting his hands in surrender. "I don't need details on your love life. I just asked if you liked him and you answered me. Talk to the girls about your _feelings_."

Nobara sighed in exasperation as she rolled her eyes and shoved off the wall to face him, saying, "Gee, my big brother _loves_ me."

"Hey, don't try making me feel guilty," Kan snapped back as she walked around him to head to the door and he turned to follow her. "You know I'm not good with that girl stuff. Let's get lunch."

"Always thinkin' about your stomach," she sighed, opening the door and heading into the hall.

"If not me, then who?" he smirked with a shrug as they walked back toward the table.

When they reached the end of the hall Knives was waiting with a plate and atop it, a hot dog. Nobara stopped in front of him with a frown but he only placed the plate in her hands and turned to head back to the table without a word. Nobara smiled cutely and looked to her brother with a cute shrug before heading toward the table.

_Oh, and what am __I__, chopped liver?_ Kan wondered.

"Mr. Kan?"

He looked to Milly with wide eyes as she suddenly appeared in front of him with a plate of her own.

"Here's your lunch," she smiled, sweetly.

"Thank you, Milly," he smiled charmingly, taking the plate. "Please, just 'Kan' will do."

"Ok," Milly giggled and hurried back to her seat as Kan followed.

"Did the moron get fed, yet?" Nobara wondered, standing next to Knives as he sat in his chair at the head of the table, facing away from the kitchen.

"Who?" Kan asked, sitting in his former seat.

"No," Meryl replied, coming to the table with her own plate and sitting to Vash's right. "Mack hasn't been given anything."

"You caught _Mack_?" Kan nearly shouted at his sister as she turned and sat in Knives' lap again. This time it didn't faze anyone, but Knives looked to her with widened eyes for a moment before turning back to his food, Nobara setting her own plate in her lap. "I've been trying to catch that fool since you told me about Inepril!"

"Looks like _I_ got to him first," Nobara smirked, ignoring Knives' hand resting on her knee. "You wanna feed the prisoner?"

"You know it," Kan smirked, standing to head back to the kitchen. "What's on his menu?"

"Bread and water," she replied, starting to eat her food and she noticed Knives' hand slowly inching up her leg. "Every prisoners dream meal."

_When do you wanna tell 'em about my powers?_ he wondered, knowing his sister was tapping into his mind.

_Eventually_, she replied. _Let's not talk business for a while._

She looked to Knives when she felt his hand slip between her thighs and she lifted the leg closest to his stomach to cross it over the other, effectively causing his hand to fall away. He frowned at her but she only gave a cocky smirk, making him clench his jaw in restraint.

_You'll have your way later_, he assured himself. _Just be patient._

* * *

_Evening..._

Nobara stood out on the porch in front of the house looking up at the darkening sky…at the blood red fifth moon with a crater etched deep into its surface. She couldn't help but wonder what it symbolized for her idol, Vash the Stampede and to his twin, Millions Knives. She was sure it _had_ to mean something to Knives. How could it not? After all the stories she'd heard, and reading their minds as well, she knew it meant something to both of them. She would ask them both…eventually.

She was jolted from her thoughts when she sensed a presence behind her and felt a pair of hands slip around her waist. Sensing the presence as Knives she smiled and leaned back against him as he slid his arms fully around her to set his hands on the railing in front of her.

"Well, aren't _we_ being affectionate?" she smirked as he set his chin almost completely on her shoulder.

"I feel it's necessary," he replied, stepping a bit closer to only gently push her into the railing. "Since we'll be spending the night together, we may as well acquaint ourselves with each other a bit better, don't you think?"

Nobara swallowed, feeling a blush spread over her face at feeling his hot breath fan her ear.

"Your brother is asking where he should sleep," he murmured into her ear again.

_Sleep on the couch, Kan_, she told him through telepathy.

_Alright then_, he replied.

"What shall I tell him?" Knives breathed into her hair.

"Nothing," she sighed. "I've already told him."

"Excellent," he ground out softly, pressing her against the railing a bit harder.

Nobara gripped the railing to shove him back and off of her. He stumbled back and frowned in wonder at her as she only stood still for a moment before turning to him with a glare in her emerald gaze.

"I'm not that easy, Knives," she warned. "Don't think a few whispered words and couple of hot moves will just get you into my pants. Save it for a girl who'll take you up on a one night stand."

Knives lifted a brow at her as he stepped toward her again, placing his hands on the railing again on either side of her. She only glared at him as she was pressed against the railing again and he gave that smirk of his.

"_You're_ the one I want," he murmured. "I'm not looking for a one night stand, either. You honestly think _I_ would give myself up that easily? I would only give myself to someone _worthy_. You should be honored."

"Jeez," Nobara sighed, looking away from him. "Prideful, _and_ you sound like a girl. What kind of guy says he's '_giving_ himself' to someone?"

Knives' smirk dropped as he lifted a hand and gripped her chin to pull her gaze to his again.

"What kind of human woman like yourself would refuse the advances of an alpha male like myself?" he shot back, letting go of her face, but she kept his gaze.

"The kind that's an alpha _female_," she smirked back, lifting a hand and pressing her index finger to his chest to push him back a few steps.

She walked with him until they reached the door and she walked around him to head inside the house, passing by the living room where Kan was setting up on one of the couches and Vash was setting up on the other.

"Sorry, Knives. Looks like you got the floor," Vash called as Knives followed Nobara toward the hall.

"No I don't," he replied, not looking at either one of them.

"Nobara?" Kan called as she only waved to him with a smile.

"Good night, big brother," she called back, still heading down the hall as she waved then turned into the only room left, attempting to close the door behind her, but Knives stopped it and walked in, shutting it behind him.

He gripped her wrist before she was out of reach and yanked her back toward him, throwing his arms around her waist to pull her close to him. His lips crashed onto hers, making her squeak in surprise before melting against him and slipping her arms around his neck as he attacked her mouth.

"In my opinion, two alphas would be _perfect_ for each other," he growled, pulling her closer. "Don't you agree?"

"Maybe," Nobara hummed, lifting a hand and tapping a trail up his face from chin to nose to forehead. "Wanna find out?"

* * *

**A/N:** didn't wanna drag that on too long. reviews?


	9. Heartless

**A/N:** new chappie! enjoy!

* * *

_**Chapter**__** 9: Heartless**_

Kan's eyes fluttered open to see the legs of the living room coffee table, and the feeling of blood rushing to his head. It was morning and soon realized that half of his body was on the floor with his head leading the way. Suddenly a face appeared in front of him with a quizzical expression.

"Mr. Kan?" Milly asked with a slight frown. "What are you doing on the floor?"

"I've always had a problem with staying still when I sleep," he smiled, sitting up and looking around. He noticed Vash was gone and Meryl was in the kitchen, Nobara and Knives nowhere to be seen.

"I hope you're hungry, Mr. Kan!" Milly called as she walked to the kitchen.

"Starving!" Kan ginned, standing to head toward the table. "Where's Nobara?"

"We haven't seen her of Knives this morning," Meryl replied. "Vash is in the shower, so you might have to wait for the water to heat up."

"Do you _ever_ get out of the kitchen, Meryl?" Kan smirked as he sat at the table and she turned her head to smirk back.

"Sometimes," she replied and Kan gave a chuckle.

"You girls are cute, ya know?" he smiled and both girls looked to him with wide eyes. "I'll bet Vash _loves_ havin' you around."

"Morning all!" Nobara called as she came down the hall, catching everyone's attention.

They stared at her in shock as she walked into the kitchen for a drink. Her hair was a complete mess and all she wore was a shirt that obviously belonged to Knives that was big enough to fall mid-thigh. She sat across from her brother with a glass of water as he glared at her but she only took a drink, noticing Kan's anger and smirking at him.

_Slut_, Kan snarled mentally, knowing she was reading his mind at the moment.

_Not true, big brother_, she replied. _We just wanted to blow off some steam._

Kan narrowed his eyes at her and she only laughed softly in amusement at his gaze. Kan noticed Knives head toward them from the hall, Vash following close behind. The brothers sat at the table, Kan and Vash rolling their eyes at what Knives _wasn't_ wearing. He was shirtless, wearing only pants and the bandages over his wounds.

_At least Vash was good enough to put on a shirt with __ladies__ present_, Kan muttered inwardly.

"So _that's_ where my shirt went," Knives smirked, his intense sapphire gaze on Nobara as she smiled back seductively. "Thief."

"Now that's just mean," she pouted, mockingly.

"Alright, you two," Kan snapped. "That's enough. We _all_ know what you did last night you don't have to bring it to the table where we _eat_."

Nobara and Knives glared at Kan as Meryl and Milly snickered from the kitchen and Vash just burst out laughing.

"My sentiments exactly!" Vash laughed, causing Knives to shoot his glare at _him_.

"And for God's sake, would the two of you _put some clothes on_!" Kan shouted, making Vash laugh a little harder.

Nobara glared at Kan as her voice rang in his head, _You and I are gonna have a little talk on __not__ embarrassing me in front of my friends._

_You're doing a good job of embarrassing yourself on your own, little sister_, Kan retorted, mentally. Nobara stood and marched toward the hall, Knives moving to follow her but Kan stopped him, saying, "Knives, is it?"

Knives froze and shot his sapphire gaze at Kan and nodded with a raised brow of wonder as Kan glared up at him

"Stay away from my sister," he resumed.

A clang was heard from the kitchen before Meryl and Milly turned to watch Kan and Knives, Vash turning his wide eyes to them as well. They were all thinking the same thing. What would happen next?

"I beg your pardon?" Knives warned in a low tone.

"You heard me," Kan replied, standing and leaning toward him, his hands on the table. "Stay. Away. From Nobara."

"Doesn't anyone wanna know what we're having for breakfast?" Meryl squeaked, trying to keep a brawl from starting, but she was ignored.

"I believe the decision of whether or not I stay away from her lies with your sister herself," Knives smirked coolly, standing as well to mirror Kan's stance. "Personally, I think she'll want me around for a while."

_What does Rose __see__ in this bastard?_

"Vash the Stampede!"

All eyes turned to Nobara as she stood dressed in her black outfit in the entrance to the hallway, pointing at Vash as she smirked, "Put on your red coat! Spike up that hair! Grab your awesome shades and load that pretty 45 calli of yours! For I, Nobara the Phantom, challenge _you_ to a quick draw!"

They all stared at her in surprise as Vash only chuckled.

"How long have you been working on _that_?" he smirked.

"About five minutes," Nobara shrugged before running up to Vash and kneeling on one knee, her hands clasped together as she stared up at him with wide puppy-dog eyes. "Please, oh, _please_ let me show you my super, awesome gunmanship. Please, oh, _please_?"

Vash placed a hand on his chin in thought, looking up at the ceiling then looking back at her and smiling, "Well, since I can't resist a begging woman, I guess I could accommodate you."

"Yes!" Nobara cheered, shooting to her feet and punching the air with a grin. "I'll go set up some bottles in the back!" She looked to her brother and waved him toward her as she headed back down the hall. "Come on, big bro. You gotta help me!"

"You two should have breakfast first!" Milly called, running after Nobara with a plate of blueberry and pudding pancakes as Kan glared at Knives who sat down, waiting for his breakfast.

"Our conversation isn't over," Kan warned in a slight growl.

"Far from the end," Knives agreed, coolly.

Kan stood tall and marched toward the hall to catch up with his sister.

_That guy's got evil in his eyes_, Kan thought to himself. _What the hell does Rose see in him that I don't?_

Consumed with his thoughts, he didn't notice Milly slip out of Vash's room on his right. They rammed into each other, stumbling away from each other then looking up at one another with wide eyes.

"I'm sorry, Milly!" he gasped, gripping her arm to steady her. "You ok?"

"I…uh. Oh, gee! I'm just fine, Mr. Kan!" Milly grinned and blushed, scratching the back of her neck before walking back down the hall laughing nervously toward the living room and Kan scoffed as he watched her.

_She's a cutie_.

He looked at the door, then concentrated on it, hard. He saw the outline of his sister sitting on the bed eating her breakfast.

"You don't have to use your x-ray vision, the door's open," Nobara called.

_Damn it! I hate her power!_

_And I hate yours_, she retorted in his head.

He sneered as he pushed the door open, stepping in as he glared and Nobara and she only stared back at him. She didn't read his mind, or move, or say a word, and neither did he. They only stared at each other for several moments before she sighed and used her telekinesis to shut the door behind him.

"What now, big brother?" she asked, putting the plate on the nightstand next to the bed. "I know that look. I don't have to read your mind to know something's wrong with you."

"It's not _me_," Kan replied. "It's _you_."

Nobara gave him a confused frown but he only stepped toward her to stand in front of her.

"You've always had bad taste in men, but Knives takes the cake," she snapped, making her straighten and glare at her brother.

"What's wrong with Knives?" she ground out, threateningly.

"What _isn't_ wrong with him?" he shot back. "He's arrogant! Self-righteous, and not to mention _evil_! He's—!"

He cut himself off when he watched Nobara bow her head and sighed tiredly, stepping closer and sitting next to her on the bed.

"I'm sorry, Rose," he sighed, pulling her under his arm to let her rest her head on his shoulder. "But honestly, what do you see in him?"

"He's a good man, deep down," she murmured. "He's got a good heart, like Vash, he's just been hurt. He was beaten by humans, so he stereotyped us as horrible, inferior beings. He was only evil because he didn't know any other way to survive. He doesn't mean to be so…"

Her voice faded and he looked down at her with a frown before it disappeared when she began shuddering.

"Maybe I shouldn't be _too_ hard on him," Kan sighed, looking away from her. "The way he looked at me though, it was like he wanted to strangle me…and _enjoy_ it."

"He's trying," she shuddered. "I can feel it. After all, he doesn't object to human company anymore."

"Maybe so, but does that really justify his attitude?" Kan replied.

"No," she sniffled. "But it's something." She looked up at him, quickly wiping her tears away before saying, "You _could_ stand to be nicer anyway."

"What?"

"Telling him to stay away from me only tells him that you're threatened by him," she explained. "He feeds on that."

Kan sighed, rolling his eyes and muttering, "Fine, I'll _try_ to be nice. But if he starts anything, I'm _finishing_ it."

"You know, it's talk like _that_ that makes him think humans are barbarians," she retorted.

"I don't care, it's simply how it is," he replied and they fell silent again, both staring at the floor before he said, "Hey, why don't we set up the stuff for your play date with Vash?"

"Ok!" Nobara grinned, suddenly full of energy. "Have you tried Milly's pancakes?" She leaned over to pick up the plate from the nightstand and placed them in Kan's lap, complimenting, "They're surprisingly good."

She cut a morsel with her fork and shoved it into her brother's mouth. Kan made startled noise before chewing, cautiously then smiled down at his sister.

"These aren't half bad," Kan nodded through his mouth full of food.

"You should tell Milly," Nobara smiled, taking another bite. "I'm sure she'll _love_ hearing compliments from _you_."

"Shut up."

* * *

_Later in the Back Yard..._

Vash stood under the blazing twin suns in his long red coat, sporting his 45 Colt on his hip, and his round shooting glasses. His hair was now spiked to perfection and his aqua-green eyes stared at the empty glass bottles placed in a line on top of a bench.

Nobara stood a few yars away to his right in her own combat uniform of complete black, her arms crossed, her emerald green eyes staring at him over small oval, black lensed, silver framed glasses and a smirk spread across her lips. Her 38 revolver sat in its holster around her waist with her knives below her belt, strapped to her thighs.

Meryl, Milly, Knives, Kan, and even Mack, gagged and strapped to his chair, stood under the shade of the Thomas shack. Kan stood next to Milly, staring at Vash and Nobara above his own sunglasses of gold and brown almost identical to Nobara's. Knives stood behind Mack, fully clothed and ready to hit him if he got too annoying Meryl stood between him and Kan to keep them from fighting.

"Come on, Vash!" Nobara smirked. "You can do this! There's nothing to it for _you_, right?"

"I just thought I'd get my bearings a second," Vash smirked, facing to Nobara.

_She's gonna love this_, he thought to himself.

He lifted his gun from his holster with his right hand, still smiling at her. He raised his gun toward the bottles and shot. The four shots sounded as one, but there were four distinct shatters as the bullets hit the bottles.

Nobara scoffed and dropped her arms, four more bottles levitating onto the bench as the four shattered ones fell off of it. Her guitar-rifle and missile launching amplifier floated behind her and gently settled down on the ground next to her.

"Show off," she murmured with a smirk.

She spun around, her back facing the bottles and drew her gun with her right hand. She lifted her gun, setting it on her shoulder, the barrel pointing behind her. One shot fired and hit one bottle, shattering it. Vash shot his gaze at the row of glasses in shock.

_How the hell—?_

"You like _that_?" Nobara smirked, hearing his thoughts. "You're gonna _love_ this."

She lifted her gun again and tossed it to her left hand, lowering it to her other shoulder. Another shot. Another glass shattered.

_She's_ _pretty good._

She tossed the gun back to her right hand and spun around to face the last two bottles. She didn't hesitate to aim and fire, twice within seconds. The last two bottles shattered, and Nobara lifted the barrel to her lips to blow the smoke from its tip.

"Smoking gun," she smirked, then looked at Vash. He stared at the broken bottles in astonishment. "Don't look so surprised. I'm sure you're seen and done better."

"Not from a woman," Vash smirked, looking to her. "That is, except for Meryl."

"Yeah, quick, say _that_ before she beans you with one of her derringers," Nobara smirked then jumped when Knives started clapping in a slow steady rhythm. Vash and Nobara turned to him before she grinned and bowed, grandly.

"You're not done _yet_, are you, little sister?" Kan smiled and Nobara smirked back at him.

"Of course not," she chirped.

Vash frowned at her before looking to the bench to see four more bottles float onto it. Nobara spun around and raising her hand, her guitar shot to through the air and into her grip. She spun it through the air, cocked it and aimed it at the bottles. Two shots. Two hits.

"Big deal!" Vash grinned.

"Ain't done," Nobara smirked.

She still held her guitar in the shooting position, but this time, she removed her hands and it floated in the air.

"Look, ma! No hands!"

She waved her hands in the air and grinned. The guitar floated down a bit as Nobara turned to Knives and winked at him. Two more shots. Two more bottles shattered.

"Ok, now _that_ was cool!" Vash grinned.

"Glad ya like it," Nobara smiled as everyone clapped, but Nobara drew the gun on her hip, her face growing solemn, and everyone's eyes shot wide as she aimed at her brother.

"Nobara—?"

A shot ran out, but Kan stood still, even as Vash screamed at her, and the shot whizzed by his ear. Her guitar dropped to the dirt as she still aimed her gun behind her brother, marching around him. All eyes shot behind Kan as he whirled around and saw a man lying face down on the ground in a pool of blood. The girls gasped as Kan and Knives drew their own guns to head toward the dead man, aiming their guns at him. Mack squirmed in his chair trying to see what had happened.

"What's that on the back of his neck?" Nobara demanded as Kan knelt down next to him. He used his armed hand to move hair from the nape of his neck to reveal the tattoo of a robin on it.

"What's _that_ got to do with anything?" Vash asked.

"That's Krystal's mark," Nobara ground out, turning and marching back toward Mack and the girls. She shoved Mack's head forward, making him give out a muffled shout through his gag and she gripped a handful of his sand blonde hair from his neck to reveal the same tattoo.

"Definitely Krystal's work," she murmured, darkly. She kept her grip on his hair and pulled, craning his neck back so that she could glare into his chocolate brown gaze of terror. "Forgot to mention you weren't alone, did you?"

She let him go and holstered her revolver then turning to the boys. Vash saw her gaze meet Kan's and noticed the other man nod, guessing they were speaking telepathically.

"Vash. Knives. Get the idiot into the house, won't you?" Nobara called.

Knives hesitated before nodding and headed toward Mack. Kan walked toward the girls, but Vash didn't move and instead, stared down at the dead man.

"This…" he breathed, catching everyone's attention. "This isn't…right."

"What's wrong, Vash?" Nobara called and Vash looked up at her emotionless face.

"I thought you wouldn't kill unless it was absolutely necessary!" Vash recalled, shuddering.

"It was," she replied as everyone stayed still, watching the scene.

"How?"

"You see that gun in his hand?"

"That's not the point!"

"What _is_ the point?"

"You're trigger happy! You really _are_ a killer!"

"Trigger happy? You think I'm a killer?"

"You're showing _no_ regret or emotion for killing that man!"

"That guy was one of Krystal Robyn's agents, just like Mack! He may be an idiot, but he's valuable! In reading his mind I've gotten some information useful for us to defeat Krystal!"

"So, you would keep alive only those who are 'valuable' to your plan and kill the rest?"

"If I hadn't shot that guy he would've tried to take out one of us! I love your philosophy on not killing but you can't push that on me! I'm a soldier! Now would you _please_ just let me do what needs to be done and let me do it _my_ way?"

All eyes shot between Vash and Nobara in terror as Knives only leaned on one of the poles holding up the shack he was still under.

_I'm sorry_, Vash heard ring in his head, causing him to stare at her with wide eyes. _This is the __one__ chance I can do something __right__._

Nobara turned and marched into the house, all eyes watching her and as soon as they heard the slam of a door, they all looked to Vash. Knives shoved from his leaning stance to stroll toward the house as well, as his twin only stared ahead in shock.

"Vash?" Meryl called softly as she walked toward him and he looked to her. "What now?"

_How the hell should __I__ know?_ he thought, looking down at her with a frown but instead asked, "What do you mean, Meryl?"

"Are you still going to help her?" she wondered.

"I don't know," Vash admitted.

Nobara killing that man didn't sit at all well with him. But what could he do? She _was_ a soldier, but that made no difference. It was no excuse. He knew she didn't enjoy killing. He'd seen that in the way she showed no emotion toward it, but that also showed him that she didn't regret it, either. She was so closed off. How were _any_ of them going to get to know her if she only told them half truths…only what they needed to know or sometimes nothing at all?

_I'm getting to the bottom of this right now_, he told himself.

Without a word to anyone, he marched toward the door leading inside the house, holstering his gun and stopped at the only shut door in the hall. He pounded on the door mercilessly.

"Nobara!" he shouted. "Let me in! We need to talk!"

"Go away, Vash!" Knives called through the door, taking Vash aback slightly before he ignored the order and opened the door.

The sight that greeted him washed all anger from his heart and replaced it with guilt. Nobara sat on the bed, her head bowed as Knives sat next to her, glaring up at Vash. Nobara looked up at the Humanoid Typhoon with swollen, red eyes, a swollen red nose and she quickly wiped her tears from her cheeks before looking back at him.

"What now, Vash?" she muttered. "Come to tell me I'm heartless? Maybe here to say you won't be helping me after all? I wouldn't blame you."

"I know you're not heartless, Nobara," Vash sighed. "But how can I, or anyone else understand why you do what you do if you don't tell us anything? We want to know you and be your friend, but you keep everything bottled up! We don't even know your real name!"

"It's Rose," she replied. "And my past is nothing for any of you to be concerned about."

"Nobara, you'll nave to let us in sooner or later," Vash replied. "If you don't let anyone in, you'll have no one but yourself. Then what will you do when you have no allies to fight with you side by side?"

"I don't need anyone," Nobara murmured.

"It doesn't look like it to _me_."

* * *

_Later..._

Meryl stood from the table as Vash walked into the room, following.

"Where are Kan and Milly?" Nobara asked as Vash took a seat at the table o Meryl's left as she stayed in her spot.

"They're out back getting your stuff and take care of Mack," she replied and Nobara nodded as she stepped to the head of the table.

"We'll wait for them, then," Nobara decided as Knives took a seat on the other side of Meryl.

_What's going on?_ Meryl thought with a frown to Vash.

_You'll see_, Nobara replied as Vash shook his head in response just as Milly and Kan stepped into the room.

"Where's Mack?" Nobara asked as Milly stepped between Vash and Meryl, Kan stepping next to Nobara.

"We stuck him in a room," Kan replied with a frown, but Nobara only stared at him for a moment before his frown disappeared to be replaced with a wide eyed look of disbelief before she looked to the people ahead of her.

"You know why I'm Krystal's enemy," she began. "But you all really don't know anything about me or Allen. He and I are special because of our abilities, but our father was disappointed in us for those abilities. He thought we were freaks and tried to beat our powers out of us. Our mother never really did anything _for_ us or _against_ us.

"Our father was horrible. Fortunately for Allen he had his healing power so he doesn't have any scars, but our dad used to lock us in separate rooms, thinking us 'freaks' fed off of each other and made it worse. We would try to fight him off but he was always too strong.

"One day, I had enough. I sensed him coming down the hall for our daily beating but he went towards Allen's room first. I used my telekinesis to unlock my door while he wasn't looking and walked into the hall right behind him. I don't really remember a lot after that. I just saw red, but Allen—"

"I saw everything," Kan broke in, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as she glanced at him but said nothing else. "I remember seeing her behind him and me screaming at her in my head to go back into her room, but she had a horrible look in her eyes. A look of…pure hatred. I knew it was directed at our father, but I was literally powerless to stop what next.

* * *

_Fifteen Years Ago..._

"_Rose!" thirteen year old Allen called to his ten year old sister. "What are you doing?"_

_He stood from his place on the floor and ran toward her, gripping her arm and trying to__ pull her away. "You can't do it! Whatever you're thinking right now, you can't do it!"_

"_It won't stop, brother," Rose murmured, softly. "He'll just keep hurting us and mother won't do anything to help us. We have to fight for ourselves."_

"_But killing him isn't the answer!" Allen insisted. "He's our father!"_

"_How come none of the other daddy's I know hurt their kids?" Rose cried, not looking away from her still frozen father. "No, Allen, he's __not__ our daddy."_

_Allen stared at Rose in horror as she slowly began closing her fingers into a fist. He turned his gaze to their father as he made a painful groan and the boy tried to pull Rose away again._

"_Stop it!" he shouted._

_Rose still stared at their father, emotionlessly and used her other hand to shove her brother away and push him up against the opposite wall with her telekinesis._

"_Rose! Stop it!"_

_Their father began screaming in pain as Rose's hand clenched into a fist. Tears began streaming down Allen's face as he watched his little sister start to crush their father's brain._

"_Rose! Stop it, now!" he cried one last time._

"_No more hurt," Rose murmured and clenched her fist as tight as she could._

_Allen turned his head to avoid seeing the blood hemorrhaging from the man's eyes, ears and nose as his cries were drowned with blood. A resounding thud echoed through the empty room as Rose and Allen's father fell to the floor, dead and bloody. Allen stumbled toward Rose as she released her telekinetic hold on him and she simply stared expressionless at the body._

_He watched in horror as their mother ran into the doorway and screamed at the sight, waking Rose from her trance with a start. She turned into her brother's embrace and immediately began sobbing._

* * *

"You killed…your father?" Vash breathed when Kan finished the story and Nobara nodded, wearily.

"When I went to military school, I kept my powers secret from my peers," Nobara continued. "Only my superiors knew about it. But, every once in a while I would get so mad and some people would have some strange things happen to them."

"And you, Mr. Kan?" Milly asked, timidly. "Did _you_ have problems."

"Not really," Kan replied. "I was busy taking care of mom. She went into a severe depression after what happened."

"I ran away a year after what happened and that's when a little five year old girl named Sakura found me in the desert and her parents took care of me for five years," Nobara continued. "We grew very close, but when I left, I knew I would most likely never see her again."

"You think so, huh?"

All eyes shot to the hall to see Mack pulling the gag from his face and throwing it away. Everyone instantly shot to their feet and drew their weapons to point them at him.

"What was that?" Nobara ground out at him, her eyes flashing with anger.

"Who do you think will be leading that army you keep saying is coming?" Mack retorted, coolly. "You _know_ Krystal has to have a right hand, and she's got the best one, too. Your old friend, Sakura Maddock."

Nobara eyes widened in disbelief as she lowered her gun, but anger instantly took over again and she stared him down as her face darkened.

"You're lying," she growled and stalked toward him, making his confidence falter and he swallowed in fear. "It's not true. It _can't_ be true. You're lying!"

Her empty hand came up and Mack was thrown down the hall and out the door, shattering it to splinters.

"You're gonna kill him!" Meryl called as Nobara marched down the hall.

"No," she ground out. "I'll just toss him around a bit, _then_ I'll kill him."

"Nobara! Wait!" Vash called as he led the procession running after her, Knives trailing behind, not wanting to get in her way.

They crowded around the doorway to see Mack trying to pick himself up out of the dirt but Nobara was the quicker. She raised a hand and used her telekinesis to lift him into the air as he shouted and cried out in fear.

"_Why_?" she ground out. "_Why_ is Sakura helping that bitch to kill me?"

"Krystal told her you killed her sister," Mack replied immediately, struggling in the air.

"_No_!" she roared and Mack went flying through the air and hit the ground where the bottles had been set up. Nobara marched toward him, enraged as she holstered her weapon, the group following her and she gripped his collar to bring their faces inches apart, demanding, "How did her sister die? Tell me or you'll wish you never took this job from Krystal!"

"She—" Mack coughed, a trail of blood trailing from the corner of his mouth. "She was in Inepril when the plant exploded. The townsfolk found her in a pile of rubble, dead. Krystal told Sakura _you_ blew it up."

"Won't she be surprised when she finds out it was _you_ who killed Mariko, not _me_?" she growled, shoving him to the ground. She drew her gun again and placed her foot on his chest to keep him still as she aimed at his head.

"Night, night, Mack," she murmured.

"Nobara! No!" Vash shouted, running toward her and lowering her arm. "You can't kill him!"

"Why not?" she snapped into his face. "He's leading us into this battle by what he's done. He's scum! He doesn't deserve to live!"

She stiffened when she felt gentle hand on her shoulder and turned to see Meryl looking up at her with a soft expression.

"We know you don't _enjoy_ killing, Rose," she murmured. "You don't _want_ to kill him, do you?"

Nobara stared at Meryl and Mack started to get up but froze when Vash, Knives and Kan suddenly thrust their guns into his face.

"Move," Kan challenged in a low voice. "Please? I _dare_ you."

Nobara holstered her gun, still staring at Meryl.

"We could use him," Meryl continued. "When Krystal gets here, we'll use him for ransom."

"But—" Nobara choked. "He – He framed me. He tried to collect the bounty on me. He deceived Milly! He _should_ be dead!"

"That's not for _us_ to decide," Meryl replied. "No one has the right to take the life of another, no matter how cruel they are."

She noticed Vash glance at her, but she focused on Nobara who turned her glare back at Mack.

"Fine," she sneered, shoving her foot off of his chest. "Let him live…for now." She looked back at mack and ground out, "But know _this_, you scum bag: the day _will_ come when it's your turn to die, and I just hope _I'm_ the one who gets to pull the trigger."

The Invisible Goddess stormed back into the house and disappeared into one of the rooms and Vash looked to Meryl.

"I tried," she murmured.

* * *

**A/N:** and there's the past of Nobara the Phantom. reviews?


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